The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American

by Andrew L. Seidel

Like Eisenhower’s, Trump’s personal religion seemed to appear alongside his political ambitions. During the campaign, it became clear that he was not familiar with the bible, as the “two Corinthians” gaffe and his inability to name a favorite bible passage show.11 Whenever he spoke of religion he seemed uncomfortable and, above all, insincere. Trump was simply exploiting religion, casting it about like a net to snare voters, and, as we saw in the discussion of religion’s role in leading to the Civil War, to immunize his policies from criticism. In Trump’s case, we actually have Trump admitting to “using” religious leaders, especially black religious leaders. In a tape released by his former attorney Michael Cohen, Trump asks Cohen, “Can we use him any more?…Are we using him?”12 Trump was referring to two African American pastors who helped legitimize Trump’s campaign and whom he and Cohen seemed to have difficulty distinguishing from one another. Trump’s exploitation and say-anything tactics are what Madison meant when he warned that injecting religion into politics is an “unhallowed perversion of the means of salvation.”13