Donald Trump the Megathread part II - Mod Warning updated in OP 12/2/26

The Netflix series "The Family" helps explain some of this. The Family was an elite Religious Right network that also supported capitalism and what would now be called Prosperity Gospel. Doug Coe used to lead it. They got Reagan to start the National Prayer Breakfast, though every President has kept it, recognising the importance of religious voters.

However, the former Puritan heartlands in New England are now liberal. In the Southern states, elites were more recent and tended to be Anglicans. There was tension between Scots-Irish Presbyterians and the Anglican elites there, similar to in 18th century Ireland leading up to 1798. Some American colonies had established churches.

American elites in New England tended to be Congregationalists, which were a more liberal offshoot of Puritanism. In the 1800s there was the birth of a very right-wing offshoot called Evangelicalism, largely outside the Northeast. White Evangelicals tend to hold very conservative, Old Testament views. They aligned with slave owners in the South, whereas in the North they aligned with the abolitionists e.g William Lloyd Garrison and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

However, they have historically stayed out of politics mostly until about 1980. About half of them voted fit Jimmy Carter in 1976. I think a factor that pushed them to the Republicans was issued like attempts to make their churches pay tax, enforcing the Johnson Amendment that says a church loses its tax exempt status if it endorsed political candidates. In his first term, Trump issued an Executive Order to not enforce it, even though Congress passed it and the Johnson amendment is statute law.

Some Evangelicals were even pro-choice on abortion until the late 70s. It wasn't always as right-wing a movement as now. In the 1930's some Evangelicals supported FDRs New Deal for example.

Also the Baptist Church, the main Evangelical Church, split over slavery in 1845. The Southern Baptists supported slavery and later segregation. They apologised for this in 1995. When they did support slavery, they cited The “Curse of Ham” (Genesis 9:20–27), where Noah curses Ham’s son Canaan, saying he will be “a servant of servants.”

• To justify segregation, Leviticus 19:19, Deuteronomy 23:2–3, Numbers 5:2 we're cited.

• Some leaders argued that God’s law prescribed separation of “different kinds” and that this could be applied socially to races.

• Segregated schools, churches, and public spaces were framed as following a divine pattern of separation.

• Anti slavery Evangelicals in the north rejected these interpretations. They cited Galatians 2:38 which says "there is neither Jew not Greek, slave not free" as supporting equality.

Black churches are often Evangelical too, but tend to interpret the bible more liberally, as supporting civil rights.

Black Evangelicals often cite:

• Exodus 3:7–10 – God hears the cry of the oppressed and calls Moses to deliver them.
  • Black evangelicals often see this as a model for fighting racial injustice and advocating for the oppressed.
• Isaiah 1:17 – “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”
  • Used to support advocacy for systemic justice and protection of marginalized communities.
• Micah 6:8 – “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
  • Emphasizes moral responsibility to support social equity and human dignity.