As I compare Trump's 2nd Presidency with opinion polls, I see a great disparity. Why aren't more people disapproving of Trump? From what I see, Democracy is not just in a mere crisis, it should be placed in hospice. For at the current pace, it won't take long for Democracy to be irreparably harmed and destroyed. But Trump supporters are reacting to his Presidency as if their house was launched by a tornado and landed over the rainbow.
And so why don't today's Repubs see the danger that our Democracy is facing? For some it is because they prefer a conservative autocratic regime to Democracy. One reason for that is because they didn't like all of the groups that were emerging from the margins to move into the equality neighborhood with them. For according to them, such people bring the value of their own property down. These Republicans are wearing such tinted glasses that they can't see the harm that Trump is causing.
Since over 80% for my fellow Evangelicals have played a key role in not just electing Trump, but in maintaining support for his regime, I thought I would share my views on why this is happening.
IMO, a main, but not only, reason why so many of my fellow Evangelicals have voted for and continue to support Trump is due to their penchant for authoritarianism. Dr Russell Razzaque has identified how many Christian parents raised their children as the reason for that tendency to embrace authoritarianism. And though he has some excellent points to make and to consider, he reduces the cause for their authoritarianism to be anger over how they were raised. Though that can come into play, it isn't the only factor involved here. I think that another factor that so contributes either with or without how children were raised which has caused my fellow Evangelicals to lean toward authoritarianism is the culture that religiously conservative churches promote. BTW, despite some of the reasoning that Dr Razzaque employs in his talk (seen below) and how some of what he says challenges a Biblical understanding of the Old Testament God (see his short talk below), he is well worth listening to.
What first needs to be said here is a meaningful definition of authoritarianism. This is needed, especially by my fellow Evangelicals, because Evangelical churches so often teach us that we are always under authority structures and thus under people in authority so that we could easily conflate the Biblical submission to authority figures with authoritarianism. Authoritarianism, as it applies to our personalities, was originally identified and defined by the Frankfurt School. Its interest in the subject was due to rise of Nazism and the German response to it. Authoritarian personality types refer to specific ways by which authoritarian leaders lead and authoritarian followers follow their leaders. BTW, here is a big disclaimer on my views on authoritarian personality types. I am speaking as a common person, NOT AN EXPERT.
And because Evangelical churches tend to so heavily emphasize the authority structures that we live under and our Biblical obligation to respect all who are in authority, many Evangelicals are confused as to how to interpret what an authoritarian personality type is. What authoritarian leaders want is to have authoritarian followers. And what authoritarian followers want are unimpeachable sources of instructions and worldviews. What such followers want from their leaders are those with whom they can reflexively agree. In a sense, they are looking for a pope-like parent who is relatively or absolutely infallible. They want nanny thinkers to lead them. Their leaders speak and they follow. And what drives them toward wanting such a leader is fear. And because they expect so much from their leaders, they tend to employ black/white thinking. And the fear that drives them to expect so much from their leaders also acts as a defense from attacks from all sides. All of that causes authoritarian followers to put their leaders on too high a pedestal, whether their leaders have real expertise to offer or not.
It is the inordinate desire to follow authority figures that causes many Evangelicals to be unable to distinguish a Biblical way of following those who have authority over us from an authoritarian way. And so they conflate both ways. In addition, many of my fellow believers develop an inability to distinguish situations when we do not need to follow an authority figure because we are surrounded by peers, by equals.
But why do I mention all of this about authoritarian personalities? One reason is that it realistically helps explain why many of my fellow Evangelicals are following Trump the way they are. It isn't the only reason though I see few other reasons why they would. And all that indicates are the limits of my own intelligence and thinking. The other reason why I mention all of this about authoritarianism is because it helps provide explanations on why many Germans remained so loyal to Hitler despite what was happening to them and their nation. We should note that the resistance group, the White Rose, was looked on as traitors to Germany by many of their fellow countrymen for years after the war because that group challenged the legitimacy of their leader.
And so if being authoritarian made many Germans reluctant to turn on Hitler and Evangelicals have a penchant for authoritarianism, then how should we expect Evangelicals to react to Trump's Presidency and its failures and challenges to Democracy? The poll numbers are providing a partial answer. With Trump's attacks on Democracy and people, independents seem to be changing their minds about Trump, but many Evangelicals are not and we should expect them to be very reluctant to for at least the short term.
The above is my take on what we should expect from many of my fellow Evangelicals. Now again, when I am talking about authoritarianism and the authoritarian personality, I am not talking as an expert. But that does not imply that everything I wrote is false. And so one could, and should, study the subject of authoritarianism and the authoritarian personality types and see what one can agree with in this article and what one thinks is wrong.
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