Evangelicals Back Trump in Numbers

Emily Tubbs, Layout Manager

Some religious groups are catalysts for the Republican Party in this election.

On November 8th, the American people spoke by electing Donald J. Trump as the next President of the United States. According to exit polls from The Washington Post, more than 80 percent of white evangelical and born-again Christians voted for Mr. Trump.

According to the The Washington Post, exit polls showed that white evangelical voters voted overwhelmingly in support of Trump by a margin of 81 to 16 percent. There have not been numbers that high for a Republican candidate since 2004, when George W. Bush won by a margin of 78 to 21 percent.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Florida State Fairgrounds, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

The term evangelical derives from the Greek word euangelion, meaning “gospel” or “good news.” Evangelical typically refers to a person, church, or organization that is committed to the Christian gospel message that Jesus Christ is the savior of humanity.

Although the majority of white evangelicals voted for Trump, some evangelical Christians were not in support of the Republican Party due to their questionable candidate.

The public face of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of Mr. Trump’s most persistent critics, Russell Moore, posted an essay online early Wednesday morning in which he said, “The election had left evangelical Christians ‘politically homeless.’”

Despite the concerns about Trump’s character, more than 75 percent of white evangelical women voted for Trump, which is shown in exit polls found on The Wall Street Journal.

Evangelical Christians are most identified for being conservative on social and political stances, according to The Wall Street Journal. With Trump as president elect, the conservative Republican ideals will be represented and exercised in the future of America.

White evangelicals make up one-fifth of all registered voters, and they also make up about one third of all voters who identify with or lean toward the Grand Old Party (GOP), commonly known as the Republican Party. According to a 2004 survey conducted by the Religion News Service, 76 percent of white evangelicals lean Republican.

Where one-fifth of white evangelical and Christians reside in Florida, 85 percent of them backed Trump.

“Most evangelicals have believed this was the most significant election in our generation. Therefore, evangelicals were driven more this year by the platforms more than by the parties and their politicians,” Dr. Ronnie Floyd, senior pastor of Cross Church and the immediate past president of the Southern Baptist Convention told The Huffington Post.

The majority vote for Trump from white evangelical Christians largely contributed to the 2016 Presidential election, and could have possibly been the make or break numbers for Trump’s win.