Christians flock to Washington to pray for America to turn to God -- by electing Trump

[Metaphorical]

37. Faith is a fundamental tenet of Christiantity

Yet faith is also, nearly by definition, the lack of active questioning of one's beliefs. To have faith means that you have conviction that your beliefs are correct. In some cases, that belief may be warranted - you have gained skills and experiences that let you understand a given domain, and that in turn gives you more confidence in your own abilities. Even in matters theological, there are many well known people that have internally reconciled the contradictions between their beliefs and their experiences. I cannot see gravity, but I can see its effects, and I can create a reasonable world view on the notion that gravity exists (if you had spent your entire life in space, of course, you may have a very different set of experiences).

Yet in most cases (and for most people), you inherit your religious beliefs, although your faith in those beliefs will likely vary considerably over time. For people who don't gain experiences, who stay within their same circles and do not interact with those outside of their belief system, that faith may very well be strong. In Christianity (and to a certain extent in Islam and Judaism), questioning of beliefs becomes a form of test, and if you fail, then you are considered apostate and reviled, because those who control the faith do NOT want people questioning it and finding, not only its inconsistencies, but also the moral value of the beliefs themselves.

What Trump has done is what most charismatic leaders do - he has harnessed the desire to have strong convictions, to have a fundamental sense of certainty, into worship for him. His followers, his disciples, believe that he can do no wrong, and that any slur against him, any stain on his character, is the result not of his own particularly odious behavior but the malicious acts of others. They literally don't see the inherent contraditions between Christianity and Trump, because they have been trained not to think about either, but only to have faith.

I've frequently heard the term disillusionment and think it is especially appropriate here. Disillusionment means that you no longer believe the illusion. It often has a negative connotation because Western culture has its own faith-based mechanisms, and those who promulgate it don't want you to look too closely at the man behind the curtain either. This is one of the reasons why humour, satire, and ridicule are such potent weapons against unwarranted faith - they make you question assumptions, make you look at things from a different context. I've noticed that Trump, for all that he smiles all the time, has no sense of humour. He fears it when applied to himself, which is why when he attacks others with it, its not really funny or insightful, but intended instead to belittle others, because when he's doing that, people are not looking closely at his own motives.