Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board

Today, the weight of the impending election is on the minds of many people in Central Florida – including those who sit in church pews or in temples, listening to religious leaders exhorting them (subtly or not so much) to vote one way or another. .

In a perfect – or even functional – society, this sermon would prompt consideration of how the candidates’ conduct and views align with the core tenets of each voter’s faith.

But for a growing number of Americans, this guidance will provide comfort and support that it is OK to vote for people whose morals may appear questionable to the unenlightened. That it is a bad idea to challenge leaders who exploit the power given to them by their voters to marginalize and scapegoat groups of people as general threats to their own existence, and to present those who disagree as vile liars.

That it is acceptable to ignore some of the great principles espoused by the world’s religious traditions: comforting the afflicted, welcoming the stranger, seeking justice, reverence of the truth.

This is Christian nationalism at work – in Florida and across the country. And there are very few things that are like Christ. Rather, it is the cancer that our ancestors sought to prevent when they created the fundamental barriers between government and religion – the walls that many of today’s leaders seek to tear down.

Know them by their works

Few politicians openly proclaim themselves Christian nationalists, but they are not difficult to spot. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is a prime example. He often explains his actions (particularly those that embezzle funds, incorporate dishonesty, or appropriate power beyond the bounds of his role) by lashing out at a group that “forced” him to take actions. extraordinary measures.

Consider his recent veto of the state’s entire cultural arts grant program — a decision that saved taxpayers a relatively paltry $32 million but devastated community arts programs, including small theaters, visual arts spaces and musical programs. These programs brought joy to many and did no harm; some of them will not survive the loss of the funding they depended on. DeSantis explained his actions this way: Some of the festivals that received grants sponsored adult-only shows. Thus, dozens of unaffiliated groups became sinners in the hands of an angry government.

This is a relatively mild example. Far worse was DeSantis’ use of state resources to lie to asylum seekers housed in Texas (in this country legally), lure them onto planes, and abandon them in faraway destinations. For those who were paying attention, the people of Martha’s Vineyard delivered a perfectly sacred rebuke. DeSantis clearly expected his confused and frightened victims to be rejected in horror.

Instead, the island’s supposed “liberal elite” residents found them shelter, made sure they had food, and looked for places where they could live and work safely while they waited. the result of their requests for refuge from abusive governments. Magnifying his cruelty, DeSantis and others like him have repeatedly lied about asylum seekers, calling them “illegals” who want to sell fentanyl to high school students, rape housewives, and steal jobs. Deserving Americans.

This year’s only presidential debate was marked by the same callous dishonesty, when former President Donald Trump slandered Haitian immigrants as pet-kidnapping dog eaters. The president and his team preparing the debate almost certainly knew they were repeating rumors on social media that had already been proven to be false.

In each of these cases, what course do you think Jesus would have taken? Or Solomon, Mohammed, Buddha? If you need a reference, see Leviticus 19:34: The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as a citizen among you; thou shalt love the stranger as thyself: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

What’s really sad is that as we write this, we can think of so many other examples where DeSantis, Trump, or legislative candidates have demonized vulnerable people, usually to deflect attention voters of their own failures to repair their property insurance. , repair crumbling infrastructure, and help Florida’s increasingly desperate working class.

Here’s just one more: the infamous 2023 State House Education Committee hearing, where Rep. Webster Barnaby, R-Deltona, listened to transgender adults and youth plead for protection against invasion of their intimate lives, then replied, “The Lord rebuke you.” , Satan, and all your demons and all your imps will come and parade before us. It’s true, I called you demons and imps.

Barnaby is on the ballot Nov. 5, facing Rosemarie Latham, a nurse practitioner who wants to expand health care for low-income workers. Let his cruel pride go before the fall.

Praying to false gods

In a recent edition of NPR’s 1A talk show, a panel of experts explored the psychology of Christian nationalism and why so many Americans are led to believe that these actions are pious, or even acceptable in polite society — and how they can worship a creature like Trump, the serial adulterer with a mile-long history of deception with his business partners, exploitation of public resources and lies about his political rivals. And that was before he became president.

Since then, fact-checking organizations have documented thousands of outright lies – while Trump cozied up to some of the world’s cruelest and most oppressive regimes and stood by while a mob broke in into the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to steal the 2020 election.

None of this seems to matter to the subset of voters who see Trump as their golden idol – capable of doing nothing wrong. Others vote for him because they don’t care about the lies and think he will be better for their bottom line. Even rational Republicans, put off by his arrogance and greed, fear speaking out against him.

How is this possible? As the panelists described, this is certainly not by chance. In fact, the current Christian nationalist movement appears to be the end of a “deeply networked organizational infrastructure” that has worked for years to dismantle critical checks and balances – including the much-vaunted separation of church and the State, but also to reach the mechanisms intended to maintain distributed power and therefore resistant to abuse. In Florida, DeSantis emasculated the state legislature and systematically undermined the independence of the judiciary. Not to sound too conspiratorial, but it’s all part of the plan.

Powerful, ultra-conservative ministers are definitely playing their part, lacing their sermons with partisan themes and using political stunts as fundraising props. Groups like Moms for Liberty, which favors book banning, wear cloaks of virtue while working to destabilize Americans’ perceptions of what is true and acceptable in society. A close examination of the books they targeted included many that had no trace of sexual or sinful content. Instead, these stories helped build empathy and understanding for people from other cultures or connected to the historical struggle for human equality and dignity.

Removing these books and rejecting other efforts to foster empathy makes it easier to vilify groups of people who have few defenses. They are ideal targets – and having enemies is essential in the Christian nationalism playbook.

“One aspect of the movement that has become much more prominent over the past decade is the idea of ​​spiritual warfare. This idea that God and Satan are actually active and directly involved in American political campaigns, and that God chose to anoint only one candidate. So with that mindset, it’s important to understand that they don’t see Trump as a politician. They don’t look at his personal history, but they see him as an anointed one sent from above,” Katherine Stewart, who recently wrote a book about the movement, told 1A.

To question Trump is to question God. That’s the message. It’s so wrong, but so powerful.

Which voice will you follow?

So how can Christians and others who are sincere in the fundamental tenets of their faith combat this co-optation of religion?

Many local churches are already doing this work. There are pastors in this community who speak convincingly about Christ’s imperatives of kindness, respect, and humility. Their congregations strive to uplift the marginalized, heal the sick, and care for those in need. They pray for justice and for the truth.

They should do more, remembering that Jesus himself did not just preach and hope. It was a fiery voice challenging the power structure – a dangerous voice, ultimately, but one that resonated across millennia.

We’ll end with something from the Rev. Jim Wallis, director of the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University, who has denounced the decades-long ultra-conservative misappropriation of the faith:

“Jesus said: You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Now as I dig into this text in times like this, it tells me that the opposite of truth isn’t just lies, it’s captivity. It’s captivity. And many people have become captive to these lies.

As they consider their choices in this election, we urge believing readers to look beyond the political alliances that have been forged between this nation’s powerful elite and the Philistines who offer to cover up greed and division under divine clothing. Look at the foundational works of your faith: the Torah. The Quran. The Bible.

And pray. This nation has never needed it more.