{"id":25264,"date":"2016-10-13T06:00:18","date_gmt":"2016-10-13T10:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=25264"},"modified":"2016-10-12T22:07:03","modified_gmt":"2016-10-13T02:07:03","slug":"non-denominational-vs-confessional-evangelicals-on-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/10\/non-denominational-vs-confessional-evangelicals-on-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"Non-denominational vs. confessional evangelicals on politics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Jacob Lupfer makes the observation \u00a0that non-denominational evangelicals tend to\u00a0support Donald Trump, while \u201cconfessional evangelicals\u201d (those committed to a specific theology) tend not to.<\/p>\n

These are generalizations about leaders who are vocal about the election, not poll results of rank and file members. \u00a0But his lists of partisans on either side (see his article after the jump) hold up.<\/p>\n

We confessional Lutherans are counted as \u201cevangelicals\u201d in surveys, based on our belief in the gospel of Christ and the Bible, though we are different from others in that camp. \u00a0We would doubtless count in the use of that term as \u201cconfessional evangelicals.\u201d \u00a0As evident in our blog discussions, some Lutherans fiercely support Trump and others fiercely oppose him.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know how a majority of confessional Lutherans will\u00a0come down on the election. \u00a0Because Lutheran confessions teach the doctrine of the Two Kingdoms, which distinguishes between the political and spiritual realms, there may be more political diversity among Lutherans. \u00a0Many confessional Lutherans are\u00a0on the political left and many are libertarians.<\/p>\n

\n

But what would account for Lupfer\u2019s observation? \u00a0Why would \u201cmere Christians\u201d support Trump, who himself\u00a0makes some pretty strong distinctions and has a forceful ideology? \u00a0You would think that those who reject denominational distinctives and think all Christians should get along wouldn\u2019t be attracted to Trump\u2019s exclusive kind of nationalism. \u00a0And why would Christians with a distinct and forceful theology be so opposed to him? \u00a0You would think that these Christians often branded as \u201cintolerant\u201d would like Trump\u2019s exclusive political ideology. \u00a0Somebody please explain this.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

From Jacob Lupfer,\u00a0Protestant confessionalism and Trump\u2019s evangelical support<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s evangelical supporters, at least at the elite level, tend to come from non-denominational institutions. Their place in the evangelical world is not tied to specific confessional expressions of Protestantism. Their Christian identity, such as it is, tends to be generic: They are \u201cBible-believers\u201d and \u201cborn-agains,\u201d not Calvinists or Anglicans.<\/p>\n

Evangelical holdouts are notably more tied to specific confessional traditions. At the mass level, they are more frequent churchgoers. This probably means they are more self-consciously aware of and formed by their identity not just as \u201cmere Christians,\u201d but as Methodists, Baptists, Reformed, etc. #NeverTrump evangelical elites tend to be leaders in explicitly confessional institutions.<\/p>\n

Generic evangelicals or cultural\/nominal Protestants go for Trump. Confessional evangelicals are theologically primed to resist him.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[Keep reading. . .]\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jacob Lupfer makes the observation \u00a0that non-denominational evangelicals tend to\u00a0support Donald Trump, while \u201cconfessional evangelicals\u201d (those committed to a specific theology) tend not to. These are generalizations about leaders who are vocal about the election, not poll results of rank and file members. \u00a0But his lists of partisans on either side (see his article after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,36,47],"tags":[455,4862,3881,4863,4861],"class_list":["post-25264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church","category-politics","category-theology","tag-christianity-politics","tag-confessional-evangelicals","tag-donald-trump","tag-lutheran-political-beliefs","tag-non-denominational-evangelicals"],"yoast_head":"\nNon-denominational vs. confessional evangelicals on politics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jacob Lupfer makes the observation \u00a0that non-denominational evangelicals tend to\u00a0support Donald Trump, while "confessional evangelicals" 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