Beyond the Pulpits: The Political Power of Evangelicals

Today, the political expression of evangelicalism seems strongest in its opposition to Islam. In this sense, it may be aligning, once again, with widely held secular anxieties. During last year's campaign, evangelical elites confidently assured FitzGerald and other journalists that evangelicals would not back Trump, even as the rank and file roared its support for him at his huge rallies, many of which opened with sermons. Millions voted for Trump because, like Mike Pompeo, Trump's pick to head the CIA, they see Islam not as a world religion but as America's enemy number one—a threat “not just in places like Libya and Syria and Iraq,” as Pompeo has said, “but in places like Coldwater, Kansas, and small towns throughout America.”