The End Of The Religious Right?

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Nearly all evangelical leaders are opposing Donald Trump. And yet evangelicals are voting for him in droves. Jonathan Merritt of the Atlantic is hailing this phenomenon as the end of the religious right. Read what he says after the jump, read my response, and offer your opinion.

From Jonathan Merritt, The Demise of Conservative Christian Political Prominence – The Atlantic:

Many headlines trumpeting Donald Trump’s victory in the Nevada Republican caucuses credit voters’ anger with the federal government. But the real lesson of Trump’s rise is not about fury, but faith. Trump’s momentum reveals that the conservative Christian voting bloc is a splintered remnant of the kingmaking machine it once was. And perhaps this is good news both for Trump for and the conservative Christian movement itself.

Leading up to the Iowa caucus, Tony Perkins of Family Research Council helped corral old-guard religious-right leaders for a secret meeting to determine which nominee they would support for president. Texas Senator Ted Cruz narrowly beat out Florida’s Marco Rubio.

Thirty years ago, such a blessing would have sealed the nomination. But not today. . . .

To an outsider, conservative Christian support for these three candidates appears to be something of a draw. But no candidate has endured more resistance from prominent Christian leaders than The Donald. The editor of the leading evangelical magazine in America, Christianity Today, declared “Trump threatens to Trump the Gospel.” R.R. Reno, the editor of the conservative Catholic magazine First Things, warned America may be heading for a “Trumpaggedon.” Russell Moore, the political spokesperson for the 15-million member Southern Baptist Convention took to the opinion pages of The New York Times to dissuade evangelicals from supporting Trump.

Again, such fierce opposition from so many evangelical leaders just three decades ago would have shipwrecked a Republican candidate for president. But not today.

[Keep reading. . .]

In other words, the Christian rank and file is not listening to its leaders and is refusing to allow their religious convictions to determine their votes.

The author Merritt, whom I believe is a Christian, thinks this is a good thing. Now Christianity won’t be identified and confused with conservative politics.

But isn’t there a bigger danger that it may be identified with Trumpism, which is far more radical than conservatism?

Or will the end of the Christian right, as Merritt sees it, mean a return to political diversity and more of a two kingdoms approach to politics? Or is it the end of Christian America?