Trump is the Messiah
How Trump became the Messiah of America's oldest religion, itself
Trump is the Messiah.
… or, at least, he has become one.
Trump is not the biblical Messiah, of course.
But for many, he has become the Christian one.
Evangelicals, en masse, are placing the hopes and dreams of their faith and future in him.
His status as Lord and Savior was sealed on a Saturday in Butler, PA when an assassin’s bullet came millimeters from ending his life. Unlike Jesus, he did not die.
But for this messiah, “near death” was enough; in the eyes of his followers, he had been crucified long enough. In their minds, this proved God’s hand was upon him. Having cheated death, he was now the Anointed One.
One moment, he lay blooded behind a podium. The next, he was resurrected to new life, now ordained by God in the eyes of his followers.
Trump is now the Messiah
… for a particular kind of religion.
Americans have two religions
Every American has two religions that they live out over the course of their lives:
their spiritual religion (Christianity, for instance) and their Civil Religion.1
Robert Bellah first introduced us to “American Civil Religion” a half-century ago, defining it as "an institutionalized collection of sacred beliefs about the American nation."
“Sacred” is the operative word in Bellah’s definition.
In other words, civil religion is a public profession of faith (not in God but in a Nation) that aims to embed political values (rather than religious faith) within individuals and that prescribes nationalistic dogma, rites, and rituals for citizens of a particular country.2
As you can see, the language is already getting muddy.
Words and ideas like sacred, profession of faith, dogma, rites, and rituals, traditionally reserved for use in more religious contexts, are now being used to describe values and ideologies connected to the nation.
Says Bellah:
“Behind the civil religion at every point lie biblical archetypes: Exodus, Chosen People, Promised Land, New Jerusalem, and Sacrificial Death and Rebirth. But it is also genuinely American and genuinely new. It has its own prophets and its own martyrs, its own sacred events and sacred places, its own solemn rituals and symbols. It is concerned that America be a society as perfectly in accord with the will of God as men can make it, and a light to all nations. It has often been used and is being used today as a cloak for petty interests and ugly passions.”3
The roots of Civil Religion run deep
The parallels between Christian and Civil Religions go far deeper than recent rhetoric, though. Religious ideals, patterns, and symbols are woven into the very fabric of the nation and have been since the beginning.
We have always been a nation in search of a divine mandate, and we have been especially enamored with the idea of a political savior.
While the United States may not be a Christian nation, it is inarguably a religious one.
USAmerica has its sacred texts, more revered within the republic than any Bible, as well as its hymns which make the heart soar at least as high as “Amazing Grace.” Who can forget Whitney Houston singing “The National Anthem” on the main stage of our National High Holy Day celebration (the Super Bowl)?
Christianity has its cross, often worn on a chain around the neck; America has the Stars and Bars, increasingly printed on the sleeves of shirts worn by true patriots.
Baptism and regular communion are holy sacraments that Christianity expects of its most pious adherents. The nation expects its most pious to vote, serve, and give their fair share.
A visit to Arlington National Cemetary will include tour references to “hallowed (sacred) ground,” which will remind many of the sacred prayer of Christ (the Lord’s Prayer) where God’s name is to be hallowed.
America has its own prayer, of course. Much like the Lord’s Prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance is expected to be memorized and prayed/pledged at most religious gatherings.
God the Father is the defacto head/father of the Christian Faith; George Washington is the defacto father of our country. Lincoln, of course, the saved the union, as Christ saved us. Like Christ, Lincoln also gave his life. Few may know that Lincoln was shot on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, and died on Holy Saturday. Churches around the nation proclaimed him as Savior (of the Union) on Easter Sunday. John F. Kennedy was said to be the spirit of the nation, and he ushered in new hope after the pain of wars and among the fight for civil rights. Those who have been to the sacred ground of Arlington will know that an eternal flame memorializes him, much like the flame that fell at Pentecost when the Spirit of God arrived.
In many ways, Super Bowl Sunday has replaced July 4th as America’s High Holy Day. It contains prayers (the Pledge of Allegiance), hymns (the National Anthem and recently, the Black National Anthem), a salute to our saints (war veterans) and heroes (active-duty military personnel). When Janet Jackson experienced a “wardrobe malfunction” a decade ago during the Super Bowl Halftime Show, the problem wasn’t so much what she did, so much as where she did it.
As long as our religions are kept separate, all is okay
As long as there is separation between our religions, everything is okay. But it is when the lines are blurred that problems begin.
This, perhaps, helps to explain the furor when Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the National Anthem in 2020. Kaepernick took a knee during a holy “prayer” (the Pledge of Allegiance) and during “worship” (the National Anthem), which brought our two longstanding religions into conflict.
In the Christian Religion, kneeling is an act of Prayer.
In Civil Religion, kneeling is an act of Protest.
Kaepernick’s Christian beliefs invaded our national worship, setting brother against brother.
Which religious expression was more important?
Should the values, beliefs, and “Love of (black) neighbor” in Christianity be allowed to take attention, even upend, our civil religion?
Or, was it inappropriate to dishonor and disrespect our civil religion with actions motivated more by our duty to our spiritual religion?
Trading the Trinity for Trump
Christianity in America (especially Evangelicalism) is at a crossroads.
A people who once fought for the separation of church and state, now, with Trump as their Messiah, fight for the unification of the Christian Faith and their Civil Religion.
A people who once fought for the rights and freedoms of all religious faiths and for those with no religious faith, now, with Trump as their Messiah, fight for white christian supremacy.
“Join our Christian Nationalism, with Trump as our Messiah, … or leave.”
Christians have decided that, with Trump as their leader, they can get further in politics than with Christ and his teachings.
Perhaps the only hope for both Evangelicalism AND The Union itself is to help religious zealots see the unholy marriage of God and Country.
Helping them see that Trump has become their Messiah—and that they have exchanged their religious faith a civil one—is the only real hope that we have to avoid the destruction of both.
The real question is: Will they?
Once someone has chosen a messiah, though, it is almost impossible to re-orient them.
Even the crowds chose Barabbas (an insurrectionist) over Jesus.
But we must continue to try.
I have published a new book, Reconstruct Your Faith: Ancient Ways to Make Your Relationship With God Whole Again. Check it out:
While Agnostics, Atheists, etc. might disagree (some quite vehimtaly) that they have a sort of religious faith, I would suggest that humans sacralize everything they touch. We all, in various ways, create sacred space in our lives.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/civil-religion
http://www.robertbellah.com/articles_5.htm#:~:text=We%20observe%20today%20not%20a,world%20is%20very%20different%20now.
I am a practicing Catholic, although I don’t agree with all the Church’s teachings. This evening’s sermon was the closest I’ve heard mixing politics with our Christian beliefs in many, many years. Two of the readings were about shepherds, ending with Mark’s Gospel where Christ takes pity on the people because they were “like sheep without a shepherd.” The priest based his sermon on shepherds, saying that on one side we have people burying their heads in the sand and on the far side someone preaching violence, retribution and lack of pity. Then the priest stopped and said, “Who is your shepherd?” and returned to his seat. I live in an upper class red county in a blue state, so I’m sure people were displeased - but I applaud his bravery. For me it was a breath of fresh air.
I find it so ironic that the Evangelicals who want to place the Ten Commandments in public schools and public places fail to grasp even the first commandment. “I am the Lord your God, you shall not have strange gods before me.”