Growing up in the South during the 1980’s, I used to wonder how my generation of white Southerners would have behaved during the Civil Rights era. I liked to think we would have sided with the civil rights activist and opposed Jim Crow. I liked to think my generation of white Christian Southerners would have stood up for both the human rights as well as the human dignity of our black Southern brothers and sisters in Christ.
But then Trump came along, and we saw how a majority of southern Christians reacted: with glee in response to Trumps cruelty, and with joy to his demeaning and racist lies about immigrants.
Immigrants who are largely fellow believers in Christ.
Trump ran the most openly racist presidential campaign since George Wallace ran for President as a pro- segregationist. Yet evangelicals voted for Trump anyway.
When Southern Baptist apologized in 1995 for their support of slavery and of Jim Crow, I was hopeful. But their members (and leaders) overwhelming support of Trump tells us that while the formal voice of Southern Baptist gives lip service to opposing racism, a majority of its leaders and flock are ok with racism even today in 2026.
It’s no secret that belief in God and in Christianity has dropped significantly in the United States. According to Gallup polls, the trend of rejecting religious faith significantly accelerated with the rise of MAGA and Donald Trump. This is no coincidence.
By focusing so much on the kingdom of men, Trump supporters are distracting themselves and others from focusing on the kingdom of God. They are harming the basic message of the Gospel by identifying the savior of mankind with a partisan political cause or a leader. This turns many people away from even considering faith in God, and harms Christianity in the U.S. mightily. This is especially true when the political cause is so openly racist, corrupt, and cruel.
Think about this: every time Speaker of the House Mike Johnson repeated Donald Trumps lies while denying healthcare to millions by making it prohibitively expensive, Johnson – one of the best known Christian politicians in America, is making a mockery of his faith and of his God. Everytime a white house spokesperson wears her faith on her shirtsleeve while repeating Trumps lies, they are reminding non-Christians of how little Trump’s Christian followers value the truth. Every time a preacher praises Trumps presidency, they are saying to non-Christians that Christianity doesn’t value the truth, or ethics, or even the rule of law. Non-Christians are judging the Christian faith by how its own preachers and supporters act. By supporting Trump, Christians are sending the message to non-Christians that we are ok with blatant racism, intentional cruelty towards immigrants, weak labor laws that exploit workers with both low wages, and with weak benefits. Every time Christians support or defend Trumps cruel policies and violence-inciting rhetoric, they are telling non-Christians that our faith is morally and intellectually failing.
Is it any wonder why Americans are increasingly rejecting faith and God?
Every time we Christians support and defend a 34-time felon, a man found criminally liable for sexual assault, and a man who incited a violent and deadly attack on Congress during his traitorous effort to stay in power – we send a message to non-Christians that our God is not someone worthy of following, and that Christians are bigots and hypocrites. It was evangelicals who put Trump in office both times. We don’t get a pass for being kind, loving people after supporting someone like Trump. As an atheist friend put it, “The people who voted for a felon and a rapist don’t get to lecture me about right and wrong or about morality.” (Technically, Trump was not convicted of rape but found “criminally liable” for sexually assault). His comment is worth repeating though:
“The people who voted for a felon and a rapist don’t get to lecture me about right and wrong or about morality.” 80% of evangelical Christians voted for Trump in 2024, even after Trump incited the deadly, violent attack on the US Capitol in an illegal effort to remain in power.
The credibility of American Christianity is on the line. Christians who voted for Trump, chose poorly. Very poorly. We are reaping the consequences now and will do so for a long time.
Every time Christians push for laws to punish non-believers into living according to how they interpret scripture, they are telling non-Christians that our faith is cruel. If you are a baker serving the public but demand the right to refuse to serve some members of the public, you are saying your religion is more important that treating other Americans with respect. If you don’t believe in gay marriage, do not get engaged to a person of the same sex: problem solved. But if you serve the public, you do not get to refuse just one small part of the public and to pretend you are a loving person who treats everyone with respect, because you don’t. You are just reinforcing the already widespread belief that American Christians are arrogant, cruel, and disrespectful. You’re just selling a cake to a member of the buying public. Doing so is not against your religion.
When you claim the right to discriminate, you don’t get to make your discrimination holy. It isn’t. It makes your God seem petty and small. No wonder Christianity is on the decline. You could simply be happy for the couple, even if marrying someone of the same sex is not something you would do. I have never seen a Baptist or Muslim waiter refuse to sell a customer a beer merely because alcohol is against the waiter’s religion.
Everytime a “Christian therapist” – who is licensed to serve the public, demands the right to charge the public for services that have been found to be fraudulent and unsupported by science – such as ‘ex-gay therapy’ – they send the message that Christians demand the right to engage in business fraud, charging clients for psychotherapy only because they want to believe it works, not because it is proven to work (and in reality, “ex-gay therapy” has been found to be extremely harmful to patients, as well as a fraudulent business practice. Ex-gay “therapy” significantly increases the risk of suicidal thoughts, behaviors, and death. It has not been found to be effective, is considered business fraud, and has been denounced by every major American medical and scientific professional organization.
But let’s return to the current leader who is overwhelmingly supported by evangelical Christians. Trump’s actions and rhetoric has given comfort and support to Klansmen, to Nazis, and others who seek to divide and harm fellow Americans.
No American politician has done more in the last century to incite and to normalize political violence than Donald Trump.
Remember, Trump incited the January 6th insurrection and then pardoned members of the violent mob that tried to illegally keep him in power. Over 100 Capitol law enforcement officers were injured because of Trump, who then pardoned his violent supporters. At least five Capitol Police officers died in the days and months afterwards from physical and psychological wounds from the attack. These police officers are dead because of Donald Trump’s lies. Air Force Veteran Ashli Babbit is dead today because of Trumps lies.
700,000 people around the world are dead because of Trumps actions in the last year. Yet Trump is pro-life?
Christian Trump supporters are harming faith in Jesus.
Non-Christians see the evangelical hypocrisy, so why would they even consider our God in the face of Christian support for such blatant racism, corruption, and harm to the poor? I make these points because if we continue down this road of supporting partisan political candidates regardless of their words and actions, we will only harm the cause we Christian’s purport to believe in. In 2016 and in 2024, conservative Christians had conservative alternatives to Trump who were good conservatives and decent, moral people. One could disagree with the politics of them, but any of the other GOP presidential primary nominees were good and decent people who would have put the good of the country ahead of his or her own political needs when needed. Trump has never once put the good of the country ahead of his own personal greed and desires. Non-Christians notice how Christians overwhelmingly support Trump anyway. Christians continue down the road of partisanship, racism, and political extremism to our own peril.
Dr. Beaux Bonhoeffer
Find me also @beauxbonhoeffer.bsky.social and at beauxbonhoeffer.substack.com