What is an Evangelical?
The descriptor has become enmeshed with Republican politics since the 1970s
When I realized I’d become a Democrat, one of the questions I asked myself was who had changed: me, the Republican party, or the church? The answer is some of all three, but most relevant to me was how the church (i.e., Christians as a group) has changed.
By the time I started paying attention to politics in the late 1990s, everyone I knew assumed that you had to vote Republican if you were a Christian. I don’t remember hearing much discussion of specific candidates or policies. What I do remember is hearing about “tree-huggers,” “baby-killers,” and third-generation welfare recipients who don’t know how to do anything but milk the system. Adults around me derided “tax-and-spend liberals” and unions that made workers lazy and then made it impossible to fire them.
Magazines like Focus on the Family arrived in our house, along with requests for donations to defend America against the “liberal agenda.” Evangelical churches and organizations were deeply concerned that gay marriage would degrade the moral fabric of our society, and they proclaimed abortion the greatest evil of our time. They issued “voter fact sheets” that emphasized candidates’ positions on moral questions such as those.
Evangelical Theology
What do I even mean when I say evangelical? Technically, it’s a set of beliefs among Protestants (Christians who are neither Catholic nor Orthodox), although Christians of color don’t tend to draw that same distinction.
If you’re not into the nitty-gritty, feel free to skip to the next heading!
The Barna Group, a polling organization that focuses on religious beliefs, lays it out for us. “Evangelicals” are defined as people who:
- have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today;
- believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior;
- say their faith is very important in their life today;
- believe they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians;
- believe that Satan exists;
- believe that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works;
- believe that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth;
- assert that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; and
- describe God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today.
Theology versus Self-Identification
According to the Barna Group’s recent surveys, only 8% of Americans (which would be 18 million adults across the general population) agree with all nine points of doctrine. Of those who affirm all nine points, 86% of them call themselves “evangelical,” perhaps reflecting the few who have started to reject the label despite keeping to the doctrine.
More interesting to me is the finding that 38% of the population (equivalent to 84 million people) self-identify as “evangelical,” despite only 19% of those accepting all nine beliefs that traditionally characterized evangelical theology. The remaining majority more closely resemble what Barna has termed “the ‘born-again Christian’ population,” who accept points 1 and 2 above but reject one or more of the others.
Most pollsters outside of the Barna Group simply ask people if they’re evangelical, and since that’s what people hear about, the dogmatic details aren’t important. Sounds like this tweet has a point:
Self-Identification and Race
What is critical to note is that most surveys separate out white evangelicals from other white Protestants, but don’t do the same for Black Christians because they don’t typically draw the distinction themselves.
In all Christian groups, the more active churchgoers now are more likely to identify as Republican. As you can see below, however, people of color remain politically more liberal, as do white Americans who never attend church.
Evangelicals and Politics
In the 1970s, the association of evangelicalism with political conservatism was loose — only between 20 and 40% of evangelicals identified themselves as Republicans. That share has grown steadily, while the percentage of Catholics and mainline protestants has decreased.
Most white Americans who self-identify as evangelicals — 78% — now say they’re Republican or lean Republican. That is a strong contrast to black Protestants, 84% of whom identify as Democrat or lean Democrat, while only 10% as Republican or lean Republican.
Ryan P. Burge, a professor who studies religion in politics, writes that “[t]he fusion of evangelicalism and Republicanism has buoyed the religious tradition, while also making it less religious at the same time.
White evangelicals are now the largest single religious group in the Republican party. Much has been written about how the entanglement happened, but Bruge sums it up:
I think what happened was, over time, white evangelical orthodoxy on politics sort of just melded into Republican orthodoxy, and there’s no difference anymore.
Public Perception of Evangelicals
This association has not escaped the notice of the American public. When asked to describe evangelicals, US adults most commonly answered “religiously conservative” and “politically conservative.” But the opinions of non-Christians are less flattering:
Non-Christians are predisposed to hold negative ideas about evangelicals, favoring adjectives like “narrow-minded” (34%), “homophobic” (30%), “misogynistic” (21%), “racist” (17%) and “uptight” (20%).
Of course, conservative opinions of liberals aren’t all that flattering, either. A quick search on Twitter for “libtard” will show you all you need to know.
I think where I can help is is that I’ve been in both groups (political conservatives and liberals). I can explain why liberals think their opinions are justified, but I also feel just as smart and compassionate as I did when I was a Republican. What changed for me was a learning more about how the world works for people who aren’t like me — and that’s the data that I hope to share through this blog.
