Kevin McCarthy is a perfect Evangelical
He believes in power and that’s it
In America, a major politician pretty much has to be Christian. It seemed that Kevin McCarthy, a Southern Baptist, had it made.
But in early 2023, vote after vote was taken to elect him Speaker of the House, and he was defeated. Why? A charge was in the air. “Every single Republican in Congress knows that Kevin does not actually believe anything,” says his nemesis, Matt Gaetz.
The country’s most famous Evangelical—doesn’t believe in anything?
A Speaker of the House is typically Catholic.
So many Catholics have occupied the job in the last decades that it might seem earmarked for the religion. Nancy Pelosi was Catholic, as was Paul Ryan, John Boehner, Thomas Foley and Tip O’Neill.
Originally Southern Baptist, Newt Gingrich was wandering into Catholicism while he was Speaker. He’d later become devout.
Does it make sense for a Catholic to succeed at the job? A Catholic is raised with respect for complex institutions that impose hierarchies. Leadership is seen as calm. As with papal elections, backroom dealing is authorized.
