Understanding why religious conservatives would vote for Trump

That’s the settlement that most religious conservatives live with when it comes to Trump. They’ll settle for a morally compromised, ill-tempered man restrained by the Constitution if it means incremental wins. No religious conservative I know does not wince, grimace, or eyeroll at many of President Trump’s actions, even those who voted for him with more enthusiasm than I am comfortable with. They see him as a compromised contrast to their faith. These religious conservatives are stuck between the tensions of embarrassment when the president’s petulant rage is on full 280-character display, and relief when they see a policy action or personnel decision that they prefer.

In this regard, religious conservatives show the best and worst about American politics. In the best sense, they demonstrate the tensions of believing in something morally transcendent, yet being restrained by compromised political realities that require painful, incremental compromise. The best of religious conservatism understands that this moment is one of great tension and unease, and that for religious conservatism to be coherent, its message must be credible. And President Trump’s persona is an affront to a morally serious religious conservatism. But honest religious conservatism knows that in a fallen political order, some degree of compromise will be necessary, even if uncomfortable.

In the worst sense, they can be intoxicated by close proximity to power, in turn doing the bidding of their superiors for a seat at the table. If I’m right that the vast majority of religious conservatives only reluctantly support Trump, it still does not exonerate religious leaders who rush to Trump’s defense whenever his latest indiscretion surfaces. I understand the rationale that leads a Christian to vote for Donald Trump; I don’t understand expending energy to make him something he’s not, or to dismiss his indiscretions as common misbehavior. The worst of religious conservatism is on cable news imputing to Trump an almost-Constantinian prestige, uniting nationalist fervor with religious revivalism. We cannot countenance a subversion of our faith that reduces piety down to power.