The Pastors Being Driven Out by Trumpism

The Daily

The New York Times

News, Daily News

4.5 • 97.8K Ratings

🗓️ 23 September 2022

⏱️ 42 minutes

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Summary

Evangelicals make up about a quarter of the population in the United States and are part of the nation’s largest religious group. But lately the movement is in crisis. The biggest issue is church attendance. Many churches closed at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and struggled to reopen while congregations thinned. But a smaller audience isn’t the only problem: Pastors are quitting, or at least considering doing so. Guest: Ruth Graham is a national correspondent covering religion, faith and values for The New York Times.

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0:00.0	From New York Times, I'm Michael Bavaro.
0:04.0	This is Adelene.
0:11.0	Today, Kevin Thompson thought that he would lead his
0:16.0	hometown congregation for the rest of his life.
0:20.0	That's not what happened.
0:22.0	My colleague, Ruth Graham, on the story of how Trumpism
0:28.0	is driving evangelical pastors out of their own hobbits.
0:34.0	It's Friday, September 23rd.
0:42.0	Ruth, what is the story of the evangelical movement right now in the United States?
0:48.0	Well, we're talking about the largest religious group in the country.
0:53.0	Evangelicals make up about a quarter of the U.S.
0:56.0	which is really a remarkable number.
0:58.0	And when you think about white evangelicals specifically, you know,
1:02.0	this is a socially and religiously conservative group.
1:06.0	That's a core part of who they are.
1:08.0	And in a lot of ways, this is a triumphant moment.
1:12.0	They're thrilled that Roe v. Wade has been overturned.
1:14.0	They've been working toward that for decades.
1:16.0	So on paper, this is a really celebratory moment for them.
1:20.0	It's a high point.
1:22.0	But at the same time, when you kind of take a magnifying glass to it,
1:24.0	in another way, it's really a movement in crisis.
	...

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