Prompt Cast
The Historical Roots of White Evangelical Political Engagement
TLDR The political engagement of white evangelicals in the United States can be traced back to the 19th century, with the influence of theologian John Nelson Darby and the emergence of fundamentalism. The racial divide among white evangelicals became more pronounced after the Civil War, leading to their mobilization around political causes, particularly the issue of abortion, and their unwavering support for the Republican party.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
White Evangelicals make up a significant portion of the Republican Party and played a crucial role in Donald Trump's election as president, despite the assumption that their identity is solely based on political issues such as the composition of the Supreme Court and abortion.
05:21
John Nelson Darby, a 19th-century theologian, rejected denominations, formal ministers, and the idea of a thousand years of peace before the second coming of Christ, instead believing that the world would continue to worsen until the apocalypse, leading to the rapture and the ultimate defeat of evil by Jesus.
10:15
John Nelson Darby's fatalistic and pessimistic view of the world gaining steam in the 19th century, particularly in Ireland and Europe, and eventually in the US after the Civil War, as people began to feel a loss of control and the world seemed to be changing against their will.
15:18
The racial divide among white evangelicals became more pronounced after the Civil War, with the southern evangelical church becoming the heartbeat of the segregationist movement in the Jim Crow era, leading to 90 years of terror for black people until the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.
20:52
In the early 20th century, evangelical Philip Morrow and other evangelicals brought Darby's ideas into American life, warning that Christians should disengage with the world and accept the inevitable, with the sinking of the Titanic and the start of World War I reinforcing their apocalyptic vision and leading to the emergence of fundamentalism as a movement led by William B. Riley.
25:44
In the early 20th century, fundamentalist pastors like William B. Riley and Amy Simple McPherson helped spread the fundamentalist vision through cross-country tours, radio sermons, and dramatic performances, ultimately leading to the mainstream acceptance of fundamentalism and the emergence of a political movement.
30:44
Fundamentalists like William B. Riley and members of the World's Christian Fundamentals Association rallied support for laws prohibiting the teaching of evolution in public schools, leading to the famous Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925, which ultimately hurt public opinion about fundamentalists and hindered their vision for political engagement.
35:28
Evangelicals didn't become politically engaged until the 1970s, and it wasn't because of the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion, but rather a court case in 1971 about desegregation in schools called Green v. Connelly.
41:05
The Green v. Connelly case, in which the IRS rescinded tax-exempt status for private segregated schools, mobilized white evangelical leaders who relied on those tax exemptions and led to a larger anxiety among evangelicals about government overreach and the state as the enemy.
46:28
Evangelicals initially supported Jimmy Carter's presidency, but turned against him when he didn't align with their conservative views, leading to the mobilization of evangelicals around the Republican party through the issue of abortion.
51:30
Evangelicals overwhelmingly supported conservative political causes and Republican candidates, with their fusion with partisanship solidified in 1980, leading to their unwavering support for Donald Trump and the Republican party in 2016.
Categories:
History
Society & Culture
