As both an American and a Christian, I am deeply troubled by the devastation wrought by President Donald Trump and his political enablers. But what cuts even deeper is the damage done to Christian witness by the religious right leaders who have hitched their wagons to Trump's star. Their collaboration has not only corrupted our politics but also betrayed the very faith they claim to champion.
The upcoming midterm elections offer a glimmer of hope—a potential turning point away from the chaos of MAGA and the moral compromises of the religious right. But it is not a moment too soon. The hypocrisy is staggering: Republicans who profess devotion to the Constitution while undermining the rule of law, embracing Trump's self-dealing, and erecting barriers to voting. And religious leaders who preach truth while excusing Trump's lies, cruelty, and relentless assaults on the dignity of his opponents.
Consider the vicious attacks on Christians who dare to dissent. Senate candidates like James Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, and Adam Hamilton, pastor of the nation's largest Methodist church, have been smeared mercilessly. Talarico, who respectfully challenged Republican colleagues for wrapping harmful policies in a banner of Christianity, has been labeled a "fake" Christian, a "tool for the devil," even a "son of Satan." Meanwhile, avowedly Christian leaders rally around Ken Paxton, one of the most notoriously corrupt figures in American politics. Vice President JD Vance, who once tried to lecture the pope on Catholic social teaching, outright lied about Hamilton's faith, declaring the author of 30 books on Christianity not a real Christian. It was pathetic and dishonest.
This is the culmination of decades of religious right leaders building political power by claiming ownership of faith, family, and freedom—while pushing agendas that have made lives more fragile and less free. They have attacked progressive Christians whose faith inspired justice-seeking work, from Martin Luther King Jr. to Sen. Raphael Warnock. When Trump arrived, they made a Faustian bargain. In 2016, he offered them unprecedented political power if they delivered their followers. One evangelical writer compared it to the devil's temptation of Jesus in the wilderness—a deal Jesus rejected. But they took it, and they've been drunk on the power and access Trump has given them.
Polls suggest many American Christians, including some who voted for Trump, are fed up with his bigotry, bullying, and indifference to the economic struggles of millions of families. That gives me hope. But complacency would be a mistake. Religious right leaders are doubling down. Trump's faith advisor Paula White and her National Faith Advisory Board are working to turn churches into get-out-the-vote operations for Republicans. And big data and big money turnout operations are spending tens of millions to preserve GOP majorities and ensure Trump faces no oversight.
I fear that if Trump's team attempts to interfere with elections or refuse to honor results, he can count on the support of these religious right figures who have backed his other lies. If Trump tries again to subvert the Constitution and carry out a coup against the expressed will of the people, it will be a severe challenge to our democratic institutions. And it will be a supreme test for his Christian supporters: will they choose democracy over loyalty to its corrupter-in-chief?
In that moment of truth, I hope they remember Jesus's question: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Sadly, I am not confident in their answer. So the rest of us must be prepared to defend our democracy and fight for the soul of our country.
