Five religion stories to follow after the election

The 2024 elections are (finally) over.

Donald J. Trump is returning to the White House, Republicans look set to regain control of Congress and a range of measures and propositions have gone one way or another on matters such as abortion rights and immigration.

Though there may be a natural drop-off in the frequency, and intensity, of religion+politics coverage in the weeks and months to come, the storylines we have been tracking will not slow down.

As we transition from the nonstop election cycle to map its aftermath and look to what is ahead, the latest ReligionLink guide offers an overview, data and resources for following five ongoing religion stories in the weeks and months to come.

• Faith shifts

• The election’s global ramifications

• Minority concerns, with a focus on Indigenous land protections

• The 2024/25 U.S. Supreme Court term

• A whole range of issues with religion angles, including the economy, immigration, reproductive rights, debates about gender and sexuality and more …

How Latter-day Saints, Muslims in Michigan, Black Protestants or Latino Catholics might sway the 2024 election

In the lead-up to the 2024 elections, white Christian nationalists and “MAGA evangelicals” are sucking up a lot of the air in the religion media space.

And for good reason. As Tobin Miller Shearer of the University of Montana wrote for The Conversation: 

In the 2016 race, evangelical voters contributed, in part, to Republican nominee Donald Trump’s victory. Those Americans who identified as “weekly churchgoers” not only showed up at the polls in large numbers, but more than 55% of them supported Trump. His capture of 66% of the white evangelical vote also tipped the scales in his favor against his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

Evangelicals look set to support the former president in outsized numbers again — with a Pew Research Survey indicating 82% of white evangelical Protestants are likely to vote for Trump in November — and a significant “subset of Christian nationalists, which some suggest amounts to roughly 10% of the US population,” are rallying around him as they push “for Christianity to be the official, dominant religion of the US.”

But religious Americans from other backgrounds and traditions, such as Catholics, mainliners and Black Protestants — whom Bob Smietana and Jack Jenkins of RNS called “swing state faith voters” — could also prove critical to electoral victory due to their influence in key swing states. 

In this edition of ReligionLink, we offer a roundup of stories, perspectives and sources from a broad swath of faith constituencies around the U.S., addressing questions such as: How might Hindus be approaching local and state elections? How might Muslims in swing states prove decisive for the Electoral College? How might the nonreligious approach key ballot issues differently from others? 

Faith & Politics: Your Religion Guide to the 2024 Elections

With just a few months to go until the U.S. holds elections on Nov. 5, 2024, reporters covering the intersections of religion and politics will face a common challenge: how to write about the varied politics of people of faith and cover the diverse roles religion(s) will play in this election.

White evangelicals, and the conflation of their faith with political conservatism in general, tend to dominate religion-related election news, to the neglect of other religious communities — Christian and otherwise.

In this edition of ReligionLink, we take a different approach. Rather than focusing on any one tradition, we break down ideas, sources and resources for reporting on the top issues at stake in the 2024 election(s).

Looking at seven issues from the perspective of diverse faith traditions in the U.S. — and the particular intersection of identifications, institutions and ideals they represent — helps us better get a sense of how religion may, or may not, play a role in determining the shape and outcome of this year’s vote.

Senator Demands to Know if World Vision Is Funding Terrorism

On August 11, long-serving Senator from Iowa, Chuck Grassley, sent letters to Christian non-profit World Vision (WV) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), asking each how they may have funded terrorism with taxpayer dollars.

The lawmaker’s inquiries principally revolve around the conviction of a WV employee, Mohammad el-Halabi, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison in Israel in August 2022, six years after his arrest. According to prosecutors, the former director of aid to Gaza diverted $50 million (USD) and additional resources meant for hungry children and farmers to Hamas. Designated a foreign terrorist organization by the US Department of State, the group has controlled the Palestinian enclave since 2007.

The humanitarian organization maintains that el-Halabi’s conviction was unjust and the Israeli court’s ruling is “in sharp contrast to the evidence and facts of the case.”

Their claims are founded on an independent forensic audit conducted by the firm DLR piper and commissioned by WV, which did not find any irregularities in the organization’s Gaza budget.

Grassley, however, is not so sure.

Hail Mary, Mother of Midterms: Religion and the 2022 U.S. Elections

As President Joe Biden looks to the 2022 midterm elections -- and sees prophecies of a Republican surge -- perhaps the above has become his personal, as well as political, petition.

Whatever the Catholic President's prayers, and whether or not Republicans or Democrats come out on top, religion is sure to shape the results.

Fallout from multiple Supreme Court decisions and results from recent primary elections have shaken up the prospects for candidates on both sides of the aisle. Changes in access to abortion services, questions around notions of religious liberty and dramatic decisions impacting the interpretation of the Constitution's "Establishment Clause" are at the front of voters' minds along with religious takes on the rising cost of living, climate change and crime rates.

In this edition of ReligionLink, you will find important background, relevant stories, and numerous experts to help you understand the 2022 midterms and their religion angle with balance, accuracy, and insight.

After Angela: German Evangelicals Consider the Political Future

In 1987, then West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and his party the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) ran a re-election campaign with the slogan, Weiter so, Deutschland. (“More of the same, Germany”), promising stability and security in the years to come. 

They ended up winning, but Germany—and the world—was drastically transformed with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. 

Fast forward to 2021 and Germany and Kohl’s one-time protégé Angela Merkel is about to step down as chancellor after 16 years at the helm. A fixture of life and a living embodiment of weiter so, Merkel’s departure presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for change in German politics. 

“These elections are historic,” said Anna Klein, a 27 year old teacher and evangelical in the central German state of Thuringia, “we are coming off our first female chancellor and we have the opportunity to build on her legacy, to see if we elect a woman again and move in an even more transformational direction.” 

Until April, the consensus was that despite the profound quandary of a political party bereft of Merkel’s calm, disciplined leadership, her CDU and its sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) in Bavaria, would remain the dominant force in German politics. Even more weiter so, it seemed. 

But then, with the support of younger evangelicals like Klein, the Green Party seems to be pulling ahead in polls. It may garner enough votes to form a coalition government with the conservative bloc, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU).

Though the idea of a progressive party (the Greens) and a conservative bloc (CDU/CSU) working hand-in-hand to govern might sound strange, the environmental and protest party has shifted toward the mainstream in recent years, becoming part of Germany’s new, forward-looking political middle ground. 

There, at the heart of this collective of political compromise, one finds a wide swathe of evangelical voters whose values and varied priorities seem to pair well with a coupling between the Greens and CDU/CSU. 

Is Ted Cruz running for "theologian-in-chief?"

Today (March 23, 2015) Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) announced his candidacy for the presidency. He did so via video-tweet early in the morning and will follow the social media announcement up with a formal declaration of his bid for the White House at Liberty University. He is the first candidate to formally announce his campaign for 2016. 

Liberty University, the largest Christian university in the U.S. and extremely influential among evangelicals, was founded by the late Jerry Falwell Sr. and it regularly plays host to political leaders and faith-filled influencers. For example, last year's commencement address was given by Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-Louisiana) who also might be running for president in 2016. 

Given the location of Cruz's announcement and the fact that his senatorial state, Texas, is renowned for both its Bible belt mentality and a growing diversity of faiths in its major urban centers it makes sense to wonder what makes Cruz's soul tick. This is pertinent to apperceiving how this might shape the way he campaigns, governs, and represents the U.S. not only in the halls and chambers of the U.S. Capitol, but potentially in the White House. Furthermore, will it have an impact on Cruz's performance in the primaries?

*For more on religion & culture, follow @kchitwood

Back in 2012 when Cruz was running against Paul Sadler (D) in the race for U.S. Senator I had the chance to talk to him about his faith. Cruz was congenial and kind, relaxed as he gave his interview in the early hours of the morning. 

Cruz grew up in a Christian home and is Baptist. He sees his faith and spirituality as an integral part of his character, but was careful to remind me (and yes, you the voter as well) that he holds it at arms length when it comes to policy decisions and governance. 

Cruz attended Faith West Academy in Katy, TX, a conservative and expanding suburb west of Houston.  He later went to Second Baptist High School. Both Faith West and Second Baptist are among the top ten largest, and influential, Christian schools in the Bayou City. His wife and he are members today at Houston’s First Baptist, another large and affluent congregation in Houston.

The senator said he “gave his life to Christ” at age eight at Clay Road Baptist Church. Religion was an integral part of his upbringing. Born to a Cuban refugee father and mother from Delaware Cruz joked that "I'm Cuban, Irish and Italian, and yet somehow I ended up Southern Baptist." 

His father, Rafael Cruz is reportedly the Director of Purifying Fire International Ministry, founded by Suzanne Hinn, wife of mega-pastor and spirit healer Benny Hinn. Often appearing at functions with his son, Pastor Cruz has been quoted in speaking to a gather of Christians, "The majority of you… your anointing… is an anointing as king. God has given you an anointing to go to the battlefield. And what’s the battlefield? The marketplace. To go to the marketplace and occupy the land. To go to the marketplace and take dominion.” 

Reminiscent of "Christian dominionism" -- the idea that Christians should work toward a nation governed by Christians or at least by a conservative Christian understanding of biblical law -- Ted Cruz's father (whom he is named after as Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz) seems to contradict his son's sentiments regarding faith and politics. But so do some of Cruz's own actions. 

“Your faith impacts every aspect of your life,” said Cruz. He commented that it guides him to serve others, to have a positive impact in his community and insisted that on the campaign trail it means trying to conduct a campaign with civility.  

When it comes to governance, Cruz said his touchstone is the U.S. Constitution and that he tries, “to stay out of theological disputes.

“I am running for U.S. senator, not theologian-in-chief,” he said.

And yet it appears that Cruz regularly weaves theology and faith into his politics. In 2014 he passionately led a news conference at his home church, Houston's First Baptist, denouncing Mayor Annise Parker's move to attempt to subpoena pastors' sermons. That event served as a rallying cry for Christian conservatives across the country and Cruz was sure to capitalize on the moment. 

David Brody, host of the Christian Broadcast Network's "Brody File," said concerning Cruz's speech: 

“Cruz comes from a different place. Not only has he defended religious liberty cases in court, he defends it in public with the word of God. He has the “street cred” to make this a signature issue in his bid to strongly woo the evangelical vote. Watching him in action Thursday, in front of a passionate overflow room gave me pause. It made me realize that this is the issue that could set him apart from others with the evangelical audience. If Mike Huckabee runs, he’ll be right in the mix too but at this point, Cruz seems to be leading the way on this. It looks to be his evangelical calling card and a heartfelt one at that.”

While he may be the golden child of religious freedom for some evangelicals, Cruz differs from a sizable core of evangelical leaders on immigration reform. He voted against a bipartisan bill that passed the Senate in 2013 that would give a path to citizenship to some 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.

Although Cruz is the first Latino to serve as a U.S. senator from Texas he has criticized his party's pandering to Hispanic voters, saying it is akin to “Democrat Lite." Cruz also tries to remind leader that Latina/os are deeply religious and socially conservative. “There is a wide and varied faith tradition in my family and it’s the same for the Hispanic community,” he said.

Beyond disputes about immigration reform Cruz has proven a divisive figure in conservative politics with his crusade against Obamacare, his filibuster in the Senate, and his positions on Israel and Christians in the Middle East giving witness to his fire-brand style of Tea Party politics. Yet, Cruz is seen as the frontrunner among Tea Party faithful and has been lauded by some conservative evangelical circles -- indicated by his speech at Liberty in Lynchburg, VA today. In 2014 he placed first in the Values Voter Summit presidential straw poll for the second year in a row. He beat out second-place Ben Carson (20%) and another evangelical favorite, Mike Huckabee, who came in third with 12%. 

A recent Pew Forum study reported that America’s 60 million religiously unaffiliated don't care much about a candidate’s faith. While 67% of the general public and 75% of the religiously affiliated believe it is important for a candidate, specifically a presidential one, to have strong religious beliefs, only 32% of America’s religious “nones” think it is.

As much as there may be a religious gap when it comes to caring about a candidate’s faith, there is also a generational one. The Public Religion Research Institute revealed that Millennials are evenly split on the issue, with 49% saying it is somewhat or very important and 48% responding it is not too important or not at all.

Nonetheless, some still believe it is important to understand a candidate’s faith and gives you insight into who a candidate really is.

“Sometimes you have to get at religion to understand what a politician really means with their policies and comments,” said Amy Sullivan, who covers religion and politics for TIME magazine. But, she said, “The implications are more important than the religious positions themselves.”

The question is not how much Cruz's faith will impact his electability, but how it will shape and form his potential presidency. While in rhetoric Cruz is plain about the separation of church and state his deeds and maneuvers are more ambivalent -- as his announcement at Liberty University makes clear. 

*For more on religion & culture, follow @kchitwood