Published November 8, 2024
The data is still getting sorted, but evangelical Christians appear to have overwhelmingly voted for a second term for Donald Trump. Both The Washington Post and CNN report that 82% of white evangelicals voted for him.
In the aftermath of Trump’s first election in 2016, the often referred to figure of 81% of evangelicals who voted for him lived in infamy among the intelligentsia. That figure was the source of endless essays, Twitter (now X) threads, documentaries, books, and think pieces by certain high-profile evangelicals and secular critics of evangelicalism. All rallied around and inveighed against so-called evangelical corruption and the apparent searing of the evangelical conscience.
We can be almost certain that another round of recriminations will commence, considering the percentage is, for now, exactly one point higher than in 2016. I’m sure those prepping the columns are hydrating and doing calisthenics as I write.
My response to the criticism of evangelicals who voted for Trump may garner some surprise. If I can be so blunt, no one cares—and nor should they—what the commentariat thinks about evangelicalism anymore.
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EPPC Fellow Andrew T. Walker, Ph.D., researches and writes about the intersection of Christian ethics, public theology, and the moral principles that support civil society and sound government. A sought-after speaker and cultural commentator, Dr. Walker’s academic research interests and areas of expertise include natural law, human dignity, family stability, social conservatism, and church-state studies. The author or editor of more than ten books, he is passionate about helping Christians understand the moral demands of the gospel and their contributions to human flourishing and the common good. His most recent book, out in May 2021 from Brazos Press, is titled Liberty for All: Defending Everyone’s Religious Freedom in a Secular Age.
