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workinclasszero

(28,270 posts) Mon Apr 16, 2018, 01:40 PM Apr 2018

Is Trump's Presidency Turning White Evangelical Christianity into a 'Cult'?

Is Trump's Presidency Turning White Evangelical Christianity into a 'Cult'? This Religion Scholar Thinks So
It's a compelling case.
By Brad Reed / Raw Story April 15, 2018, 10:08 AM GMT

Reza Aslan, a religion scholar and former CNN host who has written extensively about Islamic fundamentalism, is featured in a new Big Think video in which he asks the question of whether the followers of President Donald Trump constitute a “religious cult.”

Aslan begins by noting that Trump received unprecedented support from American evangelicals during the 2016 presidential election — even more than former President George W. Bush, who identified specifically as an evangelical.

“This makes no sense,” Aslan said. “Especially when you consider that Trump is not just the most irreligious president in modern history — that his entire worldview makes a mockery of core Christian values, such as humility and empathy and care for the poor.”
To examine why this could be, Aslan pointed in part to the rise of the so-called “Prosperity Gospel” that was once seen as completely heretical by most Christians, but that now has garnered a significant following.

https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/reza-aslan-believes-trump-turning-white-evangelicals-religious-cult

6 replies

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Highlight:

Is Trump's Presidency Turning White Evangelical Christianity into a 'Cult'? (Original Post) workinclasszero Apr 2018 OP

A cult of hypocrites. Scurrilous Apr 2018 #1

I think it's already been a cult...they were just waiting for their messiah. Kirk Lover Apr 2018 #2

You called it workinclasszero Apr 2018 #5

Any religious group with charismatic leaders, that restricts association with others is a cult! TheBlackAdder Apr 2018 #3

No, no more than someone with late-stage terminal cancer... JHB Apr 2018 #4

The women hating evangelicals are single issue voters and they found procon Apr 2018 #6

Scurrilous

(38,687 posts)

1. A cult of hypocrites.

Reply to workinclasszero (Original post)

Mon Apr 16, 2018, 01:54 PM

Apr 2018

Kirk Lover

(3,608 posts)

2. I think it's already been a cult...they were just waiting for their messiah.

Reply to workinclasszero (Original post)

Mon Apr 16, 2018, 01:57 PM

Apr 2018

workinclasszero

(28,270 posts)

5. You called it

Reply to Kirk Lover (Reply #2)

Mon Apr 16, 2018, 02:01 PM

Apr 2018

A greedy pack of con men/women waiting for their messiah indeed!

TheBlackAdder

(28,203 posts)

3. Any religious group with charismatic leaders, that restricts association with others is a cult!

Reply to workinclasszero (Original post)

Mon Apr 16, 2018, 01:57 PM

Apr 2018

JHB

(37,160 posts)

4. No, no more than someone with late-stage terminal cancer...

Reply to workinclasszero (Original post)

Mon Apr 16, 2018, 02:00 PM

Apr 2018

...is "getting" cancer. It has been there for a long time, it's just that it has become impossible to pretend it doesn't really exist.

procon

(15,805 posts)

6. The women hating evangelicals are single issue voters and they found

Reply to workinclasszero (Original post)

Mon Apr 16, 2018, 02:47 PM

Apr 2018

a kindred spirit in Trump. Now they can smugly give voice to all their deeply held religious convictions and know that the American president also shares their belief that women are subject to a man's whim.

If a pious man wants to have many wives, a few mistresses, and lust after children, Trump is the living embodiment of all their wet dreams. If a god fearing man wants to compel women into forced pregnancies throughout most of their lives, Trump is their guy, willing to ban abortions, block sex education, and prevent women from getting birth control and healthcare. If a good and godly man wants to keep women subservient and too terrified to flee, he looks to Trump to cut public education, make it more difficult for them to find public social services, and to deny women parity and equal rights.

Religion is a cult. It has always been a cult. The only thing different now is that Trump is willing to become their New Messiah in exchange for some ego fluffing praise and adoration.

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