In the meantime, President Joe Biden is under fire from Republicans for what they see as an alleged lack of respect for Easter, and former president Donald Trump is purportedly selling commemorative Bibles to his followers.
The more devout of the two, Biden has spent his whole life as a practicing Catholic and has openly battled with his party’s emphasis on defending women’s rights in light of his personal views on topics like abortion.
Meanwhile, Trump’s use of phrases like “persecution” in his public complaints about his numerous legal troubles and his pledge to “Make America Pray Again” if elected are hints of Christian nationalism.
Trump’s endorsement of the $59.99 “God Bless the USA” Bible—which the former president promotes to his followers—has Christian nationalist overtones, according to AWN’s AJ Willingham. The United States Constitution and other founding texts are included in the Bible edition that Trump is selling. According to Willingham’s interview with historian Jemar Tisby, this kind of blending of Christianity with patriotism is problematic.
The thing that makes it harmful, according to Tisby, is that it exploits people’s religious beliefs and patriotism, which could be harmless or even beneficial on their own.
However, the two are being combined in this endeavour. With Trump at the helm, the message regarding the kind of Christianity and patriotism he is advocating is quite apparent. Peruse the complete report by Willingham.
The senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and Georgia Democrat, Sen. Raphael Warnock, told AWN’s Dana Bash on Sunday that the Bibles are similar to steaks, footwear and now Scriptures that have been named after Trump.
However, peddling golden trainers has nothing to do with the bigger picture of religion and public policy coming together.
Despite the fact that our nation was founded on the concept of secular government, Warnock contended that religion is “being used again, as one more proxy, as a tool in the culture wars.”
And on Sunday’s “Face the Nation,” Washington archbishop Wilton Cardinal Gregory slammed Biden for selectively embracing Catholic teachings.
According to Gregory, Biden’s faith is genuine; nevertheless, when it comes to “life issues,” for example, Biden isn’t forthright enough about his own opinions.
Gregory developed the term “cafeteria Catholic” to describe someone who chooses the appealing aspects of Catholic teaching while ignoring the difficult ones.
The president’s decision to continue the recent practice of designating March 31 as the Transgender Day of Visibility drew harsh condemnation from Biden’s political opponents. In this particular year, the coincidence of the two dates was due to the fact that it was also Easter Sunday.
“The Biden White House has betrayed the central tenet of Easter—which is the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” House Speaker Mike Johnson posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“It is ridiculous and repugnant to declare Easter Sunday as ‘Transgender Day’ while simultaneously banning religious truth and tradition. Johnson also mentioned that the American people are paying attention.
Biden said to reporters that Johnson was “uninformed” during Monday’s White House Easter Egg Roll. Apologists from the White House have pointed out that this long-standing policy was also in place during Trump’s presidency, so it’s unclear why conservatives felt the need to attack Biden over the Easter Egg Roll. This attack is reminiscent of the so-called annual “war on Christmas,” but it’s also related.
There are bigger problems and changes in the religious composition of the nation, but these little dramas over religion signalling (Easter eggs as a means of religious expression?) can feel insignificant.
A March survey by the Pew Research Centre found that although the majority of Americans are in favour of keeping church and state separate and that very few would want to see the United States recognised as a Christian nation, opinions differ on the proper place of the Bible in government.
On one hand, 49% of Americans think the Bible should have “a great deal” or “some” impact on US legislation, while on the other hand, 51% think it should have “not much” or no impact at all. A partisan division exists here, which is not unexpected. When asked whether the Bible should have any bearing on US legislation, almost two-thirds of Republicans and one-third of Democrats hold this view.
The trend of Americans turning away from organised religion is borne out by a PRRI survey conducted in March. “Unaffiliated” is the only major religious group in the United States that is seeing growth at the moment.
On a separate note, PRRI data from February highlights how influential Christian nationalism is among Trump’s supporters.
If Christian nationalism is defined as the belief that the United States of America was originally intended to be a Christian nation, then over 30% of Americans could be considered sympathetic. According to PRRI, just under 20% of people in some blue states are on board with this idea, while 50% of people in some red states are on board. These states include North Dakota and Mississippi. Christian nationalists are likewise more prone to justify political violence if they feel it is necessary.
Press freedom institute (PRRI) founder and president Robert Jones stated, “This survey illustrates how strongly this dangerous political theology is driving support for Donald Trump and the MAGA movement and how thoroughly it has established itself as an ideological keystone in today’s Republican Party” when they released the findings.
