Survey: Donald Trump has been literally causing people to leave Christianity

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

couple years old but, with Trump now elected to another four years, is undoubtedly relevant once again.

A (gay) ex-pastor of a Baptist church did some of his own research on why so many people are leaving Christianity. What he came across is quite interesting. Unsurprisingly, most of the major reasons have to do with politics and things related to politics — in particular, distaste for conservative politics and accompanying attitudes.

But it also turns out that Trump himself was the last straw for compelling a lot of people to quit the church:

-snip-

For many respondents, politics is what finally motivated them to leave Christianity. Specifically, many referenced the election of Donald Trump and the support he received from the evangelical community. In fact, the name “Trump” was mentioned 81 times in the survey responses as a key reason someone left Christianity.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/12/2/2289781/-Survey-Donald-Trump-has-been-literally-causing-people-to-leave-Christianity

[surfered]

1. He has exposed some evangelicals as being hypocrites.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. More than "some". Many. Possibly even a majority of evangullibles. . . . . nt

[markodochartaigh]

10. Possibly?

80% of evangelicals voted for Trump this time. They are the group which most supports Trump.

[Karasu]

14. Some?! LOL

Try nearly all of them.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

2. That's good but it wasn't enough of those fools.

[lees1975]

4. Maybe the survey should distinguish between "leaving Christianity," and "leaving a conservative, Evangelical church."

It's the latter that has been statistically documented, along with a lot of movement into more liberal, mainline denominations.

They, of course, are deniers. The Southern Baptist Convention has declined by a full fourth of its total membership and attendance since 2016, a loss of just over 3.2 million, and in all of the reaction and news stories in the Baptist media about the drop in nmbers, it would be difficult to find a single article that mentions Trump loyalty as a reason for the decline, yet statistically, the steepest drops in membership are associated with his candidacy and Presidency, and every survey done of ex-Southern Baptists during that time period shows disgust with politics in the pulpit, and support for an unsupportable candidate by Christians, as the prime reason for the departures, 90% of them in fact.

The drop off slowed down in 2023, from 450,000 per year to about 270,000 but it looks like 2024 will be another almost half million member loss. And while they may be looking the other way, every entity and ministry and mission board run by the denomination at every level is downsizing budgets as fast as they can go. Their theology isn't capable of holding up under the onslaught of having to support someone who lacks any moral compass at all and all of the fantasy examples they've come up with to excuse such aberrant, heretical behavior do not survive the test of correct interpretation of Biblical doctrine. Most of it is embarassingly trite.

[keithbvadu2]

5. Trump's Christians are the public face of Christianity in America today.

[Karasu]

15. It is. American "Christianity" in general has been so deeply, thoroughly compromised and co-opted for so long now that

...this was inevitable.

[TlalocW]

6. It's a logical fallacy

To dismiss a message because of the message-giver (and I'm saying this as an atheist). So the Gospel should stand or fall on its own (or lack of) merits, and not the Christians pushing the message, but it's also an understandable reaction. Religious conservatives have been shoving their morality down our throat for generations, and then they not just back but eagerly back one of the worst people in the world because he gives them permission to openly hate. They go so far as to claim he's anointed by God, do stupid numerology routines with his being the 45th president, and run away from being upset when he does anything that they would attack a democratic president over. Belief in Christianity has fallen to around 64% of the American population, and Nones have leapfrogged past both Evangelicals and Catholics (both at 20% of the population), more than doubling their numbers from 2013/2014 of 14% to 28% now.

I watch and read a lot religious apologists and media, and they constantly come up with excuse after excuse for this phenomenon. I often tell them if they want to see the reason, it's as easy as looking in the bathroom mirror.

[LudwigPastorius]

7. Donald Johann Drumpf (666)

His head wound healed miraculously.

All who will not worship him will be slain. ("heads lopped off"...terminated...fired...)

His followers wear his mark on their foreheads.



Just sayin'...it's kind of his job to turn people away from Christianity.

[soandso]

8. lol!

[Grokenstein]

12. We used to laugh at one scene in that old end-times movie...

The Late Great Planet Earth (what hard times had Orson Welles fallen into that he signed on to narrate that crap?) because it pointed out that Ronald Wilson Reagan had six letters in each name.

Now we have dementia donnie, who shares initials AND letter counts with Damien Thorn, and was connected (through Jared) with the property once known as 666 5th Avenue (since renumbered). The building even had a huge "666" sign...just like the little one beneath dementia donnie's scalp ferret.

[Initech]

9. A church that tells you who to vote for isn't a church. It's a political indoctrination center.

[Karasu]

16. It's been that way for a LONG time...and yet, they still don't pay fucking taxes, which is a joke.

Religion in this country (particularly American-style "Christianity", of all stripes) is far from an apolitical entity. It has been almost completely co-opted by social conservatism. If they wanna play the game so damn badly--and we all know they do--they damn well better be paying for it, as the law states.

[markodochartaigh]

11. I bet that it is only the sodomites

who aren't leaving.

Ezekial 16:48



"Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy."

[Grokenstein]

13. John Fugelsang nails it (not to a cross)

https://bsky.app/profile/johnfugelsang.bsky.social/post/3lazentussc2h

[no_hypocrisy]

17. While I'm an atheist, I don't see why they would leave Christianity altogether.

The "mainstream" traditional Christian churches are NOT MAGA-friendly necessarily. (Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Methodist, Catholic)

For example, the Methodist denomination still endorses brother/sisterhood, good deeds, reverence to God, love of Jesus, fellowship, humanity, etc. You'd think they'd be gaining members with the exodus.

[Charmin One]

18. WWJR

Who would Jesus rape?

[lindysalsagal]

19. and the fool has trampled the gqp as well.

[keithbvadu2]

20. Why don't we go to church? (from the Fugelsang bluesky)

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5gcegsfesbmlg7opo7jls26i/bafkreichf4mrfgnseckrvawomgbglvorcgrlukx52ydjrvtliitjo742we@jpeg