Many Conservative Christians Accept Trump’s Moral Flaws

许多保守的基督教徒接受特朗普的道德缺陷

HOUSTON, TEXAS Polls show that an overwhelming majority of non-denominational Christian evangelicals plan to vote for Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump, despite charges of immoral behavior. Many nationally known leaders of the so-called Christian right were critical of Trump when he ran in primaries earlier this year, but most of them now back him, despite his alleged sins.

Many Christian pastors favored other candidates, like Texas Senator Ted Cruz, in the Republican primary contests earlier this year. They cited Donald Trump’s two divorces, his casino ownership and what some of them saw as his “un Christian” statements about immigrants and refugees.

But voters who identify with the Christian right helped Trump win in many states where national pundits thought he would not fare well, like South Carolina, which was supposed to have been an easy win for Cruz.

Now that he is the Republican presidential nominee and is in a tight race with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, many religious leaders have changed their tune.

Even after several women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct, a large majority of conservative Christians support him. VOA spoke to a few of them outside a non-denominational church in Houston.

“I am not excusing him, okay?” said Julio. “But I don’t see why they condemn him when a lot of other men probably do worse than him, you know.”

Julio, an immigrant from Guatemala who is now a successful businessman in Houston, also dismisses Trump’s harsh rhetoric concerning illegal immigrants. He says he is also against crime and thinks there should be a way for people to come legally rather than breaking U.S. law when entering the country.

Alan, another churchgoer, says he likes Trump’s business background and his economic plans and is not bothered much by his more outlandish statements.

“Sometimes he says more than he should, but he has goals and values that align with mine,” said Alan.

Right to Life issue dominates

For many of these voters one issue is dominant, as stated by business owner and church volunteer Randy.

“The only person that has said anything that is really important to me is Donald Trump as far as trying to ban abortion,” he said.

Randy thinks the country has taken a moral downturn since the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that upheld a woman’s right to choose whether to have an abortion. He, like many other Christian conservatives, believes abortion is murder.

But there are many Christian women, especially younger women, who are offended by Trump and plan to vote for Hillary Clinton. Nineteen-year-old Claudia is one of them.

“I don’t believe the things he is saying; I don’t think he is respecting women,” she said.

Academic viewpoints

This week, university professors and researchers who focus on religion and politics discussed these issues at a Rice University forum in Houston.

Diane Winston from the University of Southern California says many Christians have accommodated themselves to Trump.

“He supports some of their basic social and political positions,” she said. “He may be immoral, but he has a moral agenda.”

She said the biggest split among evangelicals in terms of politics is racial.