In the United States, religion and politics are themes that intertwine since the establishment of the first colonies in North America. One of the foundations of the new society was freedom of religion, particularly for those families who fled from England due to religious persecution. Among them were the pilgrims (Congregationalist), whose ship Mayflower docked in Plymouth (MA) in 1620; the Puritans (Calvinists), who arrived ten years later in Boston on board the ship Arbella, which also brought the religious leader John Winthrop, author of the famous speech “A Model of Christian Charity”; and the Catholic families, led by Leonard Calvert, who settled in Maryland in 1634.

About John Winthrop specifically, his speech created the myth of American exceptionalism, claiming that the first Puritan colonists would be the new people “chosen” by God, just like the ancient Hebrews. The lands to be explored would be a “New Canaan,” the Promised Land, from where the local natives should be banished, as the Canaanites once were when the Hebrews took over those lands when fleeing from slavery in Egypt. Part of the speech is worth mentioning: “We shall find that the God of Israel is among us, when ten of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies; when He shall make us a praise and glory that men shall say of succeeding plantations, ‘may the Lord make it like that of New England.’ For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us.” . This messianic perspective on the role of the United States in the world continues today, when the Washington government insists on imposing to other peoples their view of justice, democracy, and economic model.

Religious influence in politics reached a new level at the beginning of the 20th century, when religious groups fought to ban alcoholic beverages in the country. In 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed and instituted the Prohibition, a law forbidding public and private consumption of alcoholic beverages. This constitutional amendment, faced with the failure to prevent the production, importation, and consumption of alcohol was overturned by the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933.

Also, due to religious pressures, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution was banned in several states in the 1920s. From the perspective of religious groups, the teaching of Darwin's ideas clashed with the orthodoxy of the Bible and, therefore, should be banned from schools. The "Scopes Trial," also known as the "Monkey Trial," put professor John T. Scopes in the dock because he defied a Tennessee state law by teaching evolutionism to his high school students. The main accuser in the case was William Jennings Bryan, a former secretary of state and active member of the Baptist Church, a very famous political leader who had been a candidate for president of the United States on three attempts. Scopes was ordered to pay US$100.00 in damages, but the trial drew attention to the political power associated with Protestant religions.

In the following decade, another example of the political influence of religion relates to the propagandistic activities of Catholic priest and skilled speaker Charles Edward Coughlin, who used a radio show to broadcast fascist ideas during the 1930s. He was heard by tens of millions. Coughlin spread conspiracy theories against Jews and their alleged connection with Wall Street. He attacked President Franklin D. Roosevelt, accusing him of being a socialist. He advocated populists' demands as the reinstitution of silver into the US monetary system and the isolationism during World War II. A phrase uttered at the time has strongly echoed in the country's current policy: "Less care for internationalism and more concern for national prosperity."

 

It is interesting to note that Priest Coughlin's radicalism was recovered by a CNN documentary broadcast on January 14, 2022,  about the spread of conspiracy theories amid the crisis facing the United States' political system, precisely one year after far-right groups linked to Donald Trump invaded the Capitol.

From the 1950s onwards, religious influence over politics gained new impetus with the emergence of "televangelism," which distinguished pastors such as Rex Humbard, Jimmy Swaggart, and Pat Robertson. The latter became the most influential pastor in the United States by creating his television network, the Christian Broadcasting Network. Robertson is an ultra-conservative member of the Republican Party who intended to run for president in 2021, but lost the party nomination to Mitt Romney.

Many of the trends associated with Trumpism or with the Tea Party have their origins in the preaching of Pat Robertson. According to Robert Boston, author of the book "The most dangerous man in America? Pat Robertson and the rise of the Christian Coalition", the pastor became an instrument of the United States elite to alienate a substantial portion of the country's population. He spread ideas of reducing taxes for the rich, cutting social services, and defending policies aimed against minorities that question the status quo, in addition to creating conspiracy theories and nonsense that today are part of the imagination of the great mass of Trumpist voters, including the prophecy that a giant asteroid would collide with the Earth, a theme mocked by the comedy "Don't look up”, released in late 2021 by Netflix.

The Rev. David P. Gushee, professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University, told Religion News Service that “Pat Robertson contributed greatly to some of the worst trends in American Christianity over the last 40 years. These included the fusion of conservative white Protestantism with the Republican Party, the use and abuse of supernaturalist Christianity to offer spurious and unhelpful interpretations of historical events and the development of a conservative Christian media empire that made money and gained power in the process of making everyday Christians less thoughtful contributors to American life.”

One of the results of this religious and ultra-conservative policy formulated over decades is reflected in the actions of Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSanctis, who is implementing educational procedures that resemble those that prompted the Scopes trial. Economist Paul Krugman draws attention to this aspect: “Republicans have made considerable political hay by denouncing the teaching of critical race theory; this strategy has succeeded even though most voters have no idea what that theory is and it isn’t actually being taught in public schools. But the facts in this case don’t matter, because denunciations of CRT are basically a cover for a much bigger agenda: an attempt to stop schools from teaching anything that makes right-wingers uncomfortable.”

This conservative and religious wave also strongly affects the Latino/Hispanic community in the United States. According to journalist Alejandra Molina of Religion News Service, “The PRRI’s 2020 American Values Survey found that among Latino Protestants (followers of Christian churches separate from the Roman Catholic Church), political identity is nearly split evenly among Republicans (32%), independents (31%) and Democrats (28%), whereas Latino Catholics lean much more heavily Democratic (41%) than Republican (19%) or independent (20%). Religiously unaffiliated Latinos are the least likely to identify as Republican (7%) and most likely to be Democrats (46%); 22% identify as independents.”

This tendency could be seen in the 2020 election, when gospel Latinos in Florida and Texas overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump. In the last update of our website, we highlighted the profile of Pastor Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), the largest Hispanic gospel organization in the world that firmly supports President Donald Trump. In an interview with Premier Christian News, Rodriguez states "This President has given us more access than any other president in American history. We can meet with this president on a monthly basis, and I don't mean for five minutes, and I don't mean with his chief of staff.  I mean with the president, and the president listens. The President has given more access to the evangelical community than any other president in American history, arguably, without a doubt. And what we talk about later on becomes policy. That how I know it's not hype. It's not patronizing. It's not a political gimmick. It's not a pat on the back when we have conversations."

It is essential to point out that this significant insertion of protestant churches among Latino communities is not something exclusive to the United States because, since the 1970s, evangelical denominations have gained ground in Latin American countries, including with the support of the US government. More than 30% of the Brazilian population declares themselves protestant, and 20% of Congressmen is part of the called “gospel group”, an influential lobby at Bolsonaro government. In this respect, as in the United States, part of Latin American society advocates conservative values, takes a stand against the rights of minorities, and seeks to impose restrictions on school education. Another issue worth noting is the fact that there is a strong relationship between conservative leaders in Brazil and the United States, which is reflected in the mutual support for the projects of Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro.

Finally, it is necessary to pay attention to the political movement of protestant leaders among Latino communities, particularly the ultra-conservative and radical fractions. As we discussed in a previous analysis, in polarized elections, victory depends on tight margins. In this sense, it is not just a matter of preventing or not accessing the vote, but especially of gaining the trust of those segments that will not face barriers to vote.