By Sarah Becker
Happy holidays! Or should I say Merry Christmas? According to Pew Research’s Landscape Study, 62% of Americans identify with the Christian faith. Of those, the greatest number identify as Evangelical Protestant [23%]. Other Protestant categories include: Catholic [19%]; Mainline Protestant [11%] and Historically Black Protestants [5%]. Twenty-nine percent of Americans claim no religious affiliation.
President George Washington was Anglican. Civil War President Abraham Lincoln [R-IL] had “no formal religious affiliation:” only a strong interest in “religious freedoms.” President and WWII General Dwight D. Eisenhower [R-KS] was baptized in 1953, while in office, in D.C.’s National Presbyterian Church.
Said George Washington in his Farewell Address: “However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”
Given today’s divisive political climate readers now ask? To what extent are America’s politicians and religious leaders behaving like “potent engines?” Retired Alexandria Library Duncan Branch Manager Brack Stovall joins me for a Q&A. Born in1954 in Lynchburg, Virginia, Brack earned a degree in Philosophy and Religion.
SARAH: President Donald Trump [R-NY, FL] is a life-long Presbyterian. In October 2025 Eric Trump, President Trump’s son said of his father’s administration: “We’re saving God. We’re saving the family, and we’re saving the Nation. DEI [Diversity, Equity, Inclusion] is out the window.” To what extent is Eric’s statement a concerning mix of politics and religion?”
STOVALL: This statement seems to come from a place of arrogance, possibly stemming from a misunderstanding of how “God” and the world are connected. Eric Trump might not know that the Presbyterian Catechism clearly states that God delivers salvation through grace. This salvation is available to all nations, and the Presbyterian Catechism makes it clear that God saves, not the other way around. Could Eric Trump honestly believe that the Biblical idea of God needs to be saved by people? In the same paragraph, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), a political policy, is grouped with family and the nation, suggesting that DEI is against family, the nation, and Eric Trump’s God, who needs saving. His statement doesn’t have any theological foundation and is more like a political claim that doesn’t rely on Biblical authority, instead favoring cultural decisions.
SARAH: Scholars typically analyze religious issues using one of three methods. [1] The belief that “right” comes from God and Natural Law. [2] Contrasting Revolutions and or Human Intervention, [3] Overlap. America’s 1789 Constitution is grounded in a “Creator God.” France’s 1791 Constitution is more secular. The population’s “rights–liberty, equality, and ‘fraternity–[are] to be independent of God.” Who is, what is a Creator God?
STOVALL: The framers of the Constitution were well aware of the discussions surrounding the concept of God. Thomas Jefferson’s notion of the Creator or God was not necessarily aligned with the concept of a personal God found in modern Evangelical Churches. Judaic understanding of God as revealed in history is parallel to the understanding of a creator revealed in Natural Law. Immanuel Kant, in his work “The Critique of Pure Reason,” logically explained that the concept of God is not necessarily settled. Simply believing that one possesses something of value does not imply that it is actually valuable. The concept of an idea does not necessarily equate to its reality. [https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/abs/kants-ideas-of-reason/7F343AE650DE60AE733A9087C13CAC99]
The framers of the Constitution were deliberate in excluding religious thought from the language of the document they created. At the time, it was understood that the foundation of law is rooted in the same ideas of authority as revealed in Natural Law, rather than some vague authority supported by religious factions or their needs.
SARAH: Thomas Jefferson, an Anglican, championed “freedom of opinion.” He was instrumental in drafting America’s 1789 Constitution, its 1791 Bill of Rights. Freedom of religion, of the press, and trial by jury topped Jefferson’s list of individual protections. Has President Trump finally gone too far as per his interpretation of the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights; his 2025 America Prays initiative? The October 2025 “No Kings” protest confirms countrywide opposition to monarchial right: the right “to set, change, or destroy the rules of governance.”
STOVALL: US leaders often invoke prayer during crises. Thanksgiving, a time of giving thanks and prayer, became a Federal Holiday when families gathered to celebrate traditions. Now, it’s a sacred act of watching College football.
President Trump’s actions are suspicious. He shows little interest in the trials of the average person in crisis. After courting the Evangelical Church, his 2025 Prayer initiative seems a gesture to gain support for Christian Nationalism. After 250 years of holding back the Church’s interest in controlling Federal powers, Trump appears ready to hand Evangelicals the keys to Federal power, nationalizing their input to policy, as long as it supports his desires.
SARAH: The Bible defines morality as “principles of right and wrong.” [Matthew 22:37-39] President Jimmy Carter [D-GA], Nobel Prize winner, and Baptist turned Evangelical Christian will forever be remembered as moral; for his integrity, his honesty, humanity and promotion of human rights. To what extent Is morality synonymous with virtue; with character; with religion generally? Was Carter following God and the Laws of nature?
STOVALL: In his post-presidential years, Jimmy Carter embarked on two significant projects: Habitat for Humanity and the eradication of the Guinea worm disease. These endeavors reflected his deep concern for humanity and his commitment to addressing these issues using the resources available to him and his unwavering selflessness. Carter’s virtuous life was evident in the relationships he cultivated and his leadership in numerous projects he was involved in during his post-presidential years.
SARAH: Lynchburg’s Rev. Jerry Falwell, Sr., [1933-2007] was a trendsetter. The family’s ongoing mega-church, Thomas Road Baptist Church was established in 1956; his radio ministry also. Falwell Sr.’s, televised Old-Time Gospel Hour aired in 1968; Liberty University launched in 1971. The church’s conservative Moral Majority became politically active in 1979. To what extent was the Moral Majority responsible for the development of the Christian Right; the defeat of the 1970s-1980s Women’s Equal Rights Amendment? Rather than accept a partisan defeat President Jimmy Carter, also Baptist, worked with the House Judiciary Committee to extend the Amendment’s deadline.
STOVALL: Jerry Falwell’s initial intentions with his Christian Evangelical Ministry were soon overshadowed by the politics of the day. While his educational facilities were established to provide Christian education alternatives, they gained popularity as many individuals sought them in response to the desegregation of public schools. Falwell sought financial support for his ministries from individuals with political ideologies unrelated to Christian education. During this period, he formed the Moral Majority, which played a significant role in national attacks on the Equal Rights Amendment and abortion, gaining a “Christian” endorsement. The Moral Majority served as the precursor to the Tea Party and acted as the Evangelical foot in the door for influencing political actions by the church.
President Eisenhower’s Prayer: “…Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly, right from wrong and allow all our words and actions to be governed by the laws of this land…”
About the Author: Sarah Becker started writing for The Economist while a graduate student in England. Similar publications followed. She joined the Crier in 1996 while serving on the Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association Board. Her interest in antiquities began as a World Bank hire, with Indonesia’s need to generate hard currency. Balinese history, i.e. tourism provided the means. The New York Times describes Becker’s book, Off Your Duffs & Up the Assets, as “a blueprint for thousands of nonprofit managers.” A former museum director, SLAM’s saving grace Sarah received Alexandria’s Salute to Women Award in 2007. Email abitofhistory53@gmail.com