Today, the weight of the pending election is on the minds of many across Central Florida — including those who are sitting in church pews or temples, listening to faith leaders exhorting them (subtly or not so much) to cast their ballots one way or another.
In a perfect — or even functional — society, that sermonizing would prompt an examination of how candidates’ conduct and viewpoints align with the core tenets of each voter’s faith.
But for a growing number of Americans, this guidance will offer comfort and support that it’s OK to vote for people whose morals might appear questionable to the unenlightened.That it’s a bad idea to question leaders who exploit their voter-given power to marginalize and scapegoat groups of people as general threats to their own existence, and to paint those who disagree as villainous liars.
That it’s acceptable to ignore some of the great principles espoused by the world’s religious traditions: To comfort the afflicted, to welcome the stranger, to seek justice, to revere the truth.
This is Christian nationalism at work — in Florida, and across the nation. And there is very little that is Christlike about it. Rather, this is the cancer our forefathers sought to prevent when they created the fundamental firewalls between government and religion — the walls that many of today’s leaders are seeking to tear down.
Know them by their works
Not many politicians openly proclaim themselves to be Christian nationalists, but they aren’t hard to spot. Gov. Ron DeSantis is a prime example. He often explains his actions (particularly those that misappropriate funding, incorporate dishonesty or gather power to himself that outstrips the boundaries of his role) by lashing out at some group that has “forced” him into extraordinary action. Consider his recent veto of the state’s entire cultural arts grant program — a move that saved taxpayers a relatively paltry $32 million, but one that has devastated community arts programs including small theaters, visual-arts spaces and music programs. These programs brought joy to many and did no harm; some of them will not survive the loss of funding they depended on. DeSantis explained his actions thusly: A few of the festivals that received the grants sponsored performances that were for adults only. Thus, dozens of unaffiliated groups became sinners in the hands of an angry gov.
That’s a relatively mild example. Far worse was DeSantis’ use of state resources to lie to Texas-housed asylum seekers (in this country legally), lure them onto planes and abandon them in distant destinations. For those who were paying attention, the residents of Martha’s Vineyard provided a perfectly sacred rebuke. DeSantis clearly expected his confused, frightened victims to be rejected with horror. Instead, the supposed “liberal elite” denizens of the island found them shelter, made sure they had food and sought out places where they could live and work in safety while awaiting the outcome of their requests for refuge from abusive governments. Magnifying his cruelty, DeSantis and like-minded people have repeatedly lied about asylum seekers, branding them as “illegals” who want to sell fentanyl to high-schoolers, rape housewifes and steal jobs from deserving Americans.
The only presidential debate this year featured the same callous dishonesty, when former president Donald Trump slandered Haitian immigrants as pet-abducting dog-eaters. The president and his debate-prep team almost certainly knew they were repeating social-media rumors that had already been proven false.
In each of these cases, what side do you think Jesus would have taken? Or Solomon, Mohammed, Buddha? If you need a reference, check out Leviticus 19:34: The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
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The truly sad thing is that, even as we write this, we can think of so many other examples where DeSantis, Trump or legislative candidates demonized vulnerable people, usually as a distraction to draw voters’ attention away from their own failures to fix property insurance, repair crumbling infrastructure and help Florida’s increasingly desperate working class.
Here’s just one more: The infamous 2023 hearing of the state House Education Committee, where Rep. Webster Barnaby, R-Deltona, listened to transgender adults and youth plead for protection against invasion into their intimate lives, then responded: “The Lord rebuke you, Satan, and all of your demons and all of your imps will come and parade before us. That’s right — I called you demons and imps.”
Barnaby is on the ballot Nov. 5, facing Rosemarie Latham, a nurse-practitioner who wants to expand health care to low-income workers. May his cruel pride go before a fall.
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Praying to false gods
In a recent edition of the NPR talk show 1A, a panel of experts explored the psychology of Christian nationalism and why so many Americans are seduced into believing that these actions are godly, or even acceptable in a polite society — and how they can revere a creature like Trump, the serial adulterer with a miles-long record of cheating his business partners, exploiting public resources and spewing lies about political rivals. And that was before he became president. Since then, fact-checking organizations have documented thousands of outright lies — while Trump cosied up to some of the world’s cruelest and most oppressive regimes and stood by while a mob broke into the U.S. Capitol in pursuit of his attempt to steal the 2020 election.
None of it seems to matter to the subset of voters who see Trump as their golden idol — capable of no wrong. Others vote for him because they don’t care about the lies, and believe he’ll be better for their bottom line. Even rational Republicans, who are repulsed by his arrogance and greed, fear to speak up against him.
How can this be? As described by the panelists, it’s definitely not by accident. In fact, the current Christian nationalist movement appears to be the end game of a “deeply networked organizational infrastructure” that’s been working for years to dismantle critical checks and balances — including the much vaunted separation of church and state, but also reaching to mechanisms intended to keep power distributed and thus, resistant to abuse. In Florida, DeSantis has emasculated the state Legislature and systematically undermined the independence of the court system. Not to sound too conspiratorial, but it’s all part of the plan.
Powerful, ultra-conservative ministers are definitely playing their role, lacing their sermons with partisan themes and using political stunts as fundraising props. Groups like the pro-book-banning Moms for Liberty clutch cloaks of virtue while they work to destabilize Americans’ perception of what is true and acceptable in society. A close look at the books they’ve targeted include many that had no whiff of sexual or sinful content. Instead, these stories worked to build empathy and understanding of people who were from other cultures, or related the historic struggle for human equality and dignity.
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Removing those books, and rejecting other efforts to foster empathy, makes it easier to vilify groups of people who have few defenses. They are the perfect targets — and having enemies is essential in the Christian Nationalist playbook.
“One aspect of movement that’s become much more salient in the last decade or so is the idea of spiritual warfare. This idea that God and Satan are really active and directly involved in American political campaigns, and and and God has chosen to anoint one candidate. So within this mindset, it’s important to understand they see Trump not so much as a politician. They don’t look at his personal history, but they see him as an anointed one sent from on high,” Katherine Stewart, who recently wrote a book about the movement, told 1A.
To question Trump is to question God. That’s the message. It’s so wrong, but so powerful.
What voice will you follow?
So how do Christians and other people who are sincere in the core tenets of their faith fight back against this co-opting of religion?
Many local churches are already doing this work. There are pastors in this community who speak compellingly of Christ’s imperatives toward kindness, respect and humility. Their congregations work to lift up marginalized people, heal the sick, care for those in need. They pray for justice, and for truth.
They should do more, remembering that Jesus himself was not content just to preach and hope. He was a fiery voice challenging the power structure — a dangerous voice, in the end, but one that has echoed through millennia.
We’ll close with something the Rev. Jim Wallis, director of the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University, who has been rebuking the ultra-conservative highjacking of faith for decades:
“Jesus said, you’ll know the truth, and the truth will make you free. Now as I dig into that text in times like this, it tells me that the opposite of truth isn’t just lies, it’s captivity. It’s captivity. And a whole lot of people have become captive to these lies.”
As they consider their choices in this election, we urge readers of faith to look past the political alliances that have been forged between the powerful elite of this nation and the Philistines who offer to cloak greed and division in Godly vestments. Look to the core works of your faith: The Torah. The Koran. The Bible.
And pray. This nation has never needed it more.
The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Contact us at insight@orlandosentinel.com
