Since July, when the Republican National Committee dropped a federal abortion ban from its national platform, several traditional religious right leaders have suggested that they have been betrayed, raising questions about whether evangelical Christians and conservative Catholics would support former President Donald Trump’s current campaign for the White House with the same vigor as in 2016 and 2020.
At the Pray Vote Stand Summit in Washington, the religious right’s annual confab held in the first week of October, some speakers took the occasion to denounce the decision: “Tragic and disgraceful,” said Robert P. George, the Princeton University legal scholar, of the disappearance of the anti-abortion plank.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, who founded the event as the Value Voter Summit in 2006 and is still its principal organizer, chided the RNC’s political expediency: “If (Democrats) are making this one of their top issues and the Republican response to it is crickets, well, it’s not going to motivate the base,” he told the crowd gathered at the Omni Shoreham Hotel.
Despite this, the conference clearly presented the GOP ticket as the preferable option. Speaker after speaker invoked Dobbs v. Jackson, the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, as a triumph that resulted in effectively banning most or all abortions in more than 20 states.
Others simply dismissed the notion that Trump planned to soften on abortion if he returns to office. Janet Durig, executive director of the anti-abortion Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center, asserted during a panel titled “Kamala Harris’s Attack on Life and the Family” that a new Trump administration “would be pro-life, which they would be.”
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Ben Carson, saying “we are making progress,” pleaded with anti-abortion voters to stop fighting amongst themselves.
California pastor and radio host Jack Hibbs stated plainly, “I want someone in the White House who will save more babies’ lives than Kamala Harris. There’s no doubt about that. I’m voting for Donald Trump.”
The conference organizers also showcased other issues that would rally evangelical Christians to Trump. Particularly salient was the issue of transgender identity, which at Pray Vote Stand eclipsed even abortion as the next big front in the culture wars. Panels at the conference included, “What’s Really Behind the Transgender Movement”; “Protecting America’s Daughters: Title IX and the Fight for Fairness” (opposing transgender girls participating in high school sports); and “How the Biden-Harris administration Is Eliminating Parental Consent for Children’s Health Care.”
Outlawed in more than 25 states, transgender medical interventions for minors remain extremely rare, but at Pray Vote Stand the issue was a springboard to rally the conservative base. Nearly every speaker hit on the theme, often casting the practice as a specifically anti-Christian conspiracy. “The trans movement is about erasing a family union, which is meant to be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” declared Jennifer Bauwens, director of the Center for Family Studies at FRC, in one panel.
The issue was often framed as a new front in the fight against abortion. Cissie Graham Lynch, daughter of the evangelist Franklin Graham, said, “The Biden-Harris government oppresses and destroys life,” and the Democratic Party “encourages children to question their God-given gender … has a zeal for abortion.”
Christian nationalist themes also featured prominently at the summit. Matt Krause, a former Texas state representative and now an attorney with the Christian legal nonprofit First Liberty Institute argued that separation of church and state is a “big lie.”
He regaled his audience at Pray Vote Stand with a history popularized by Christian nationalist historian David Barton, in which the establishment clause of the Constitution has been misinterpreted, and judicial decisions bolstering it were “erroneous rulings.”
Krause related a string of successes First Liberty Institute and its fellow travelers in the Christian conservative legal ecosphere have had in getting their cases before the Supreme Court. “We’ve had four cases at the Supreme Court in the past 20 months,” he exulted. “Our religious liberty rights are being restored at an incredible pace.”
The goal, Krause said, is to restore Christian religious symbols and ideas wherever possible in the public sphere. “Restoring faith in America could mean restoring the Ten Commandments and cross displays. Where they have been taken down they can go back up.” He advocated for direct religious involvement in public schools and sectarian invocations for city councils, school boards and state legislatures.
“What is the new test at the Supreme Court? History and Tradition, right?” he asked, referring to a key phrase in the Dobbs decision. “And there’s nothing more historical or traditional than the Ten Commandments,” he said.
At a breakout session titled “Running for Office and Engaging Your Community,” Aamon Ross, founder of a video podcast called “Kingdom in Politics,” said, “We should think of government as the next big mission field.”
The 2020 election, according to the speakers, validated these schemes. They also maintained that Trump won the 2020 election and had it stolen out from under him. “I believe 2020 awoke a sleeping giant. People like me got involved in election litigation. Get into the fight,” said Mike Berry, executive director of the Center for Litigation at the America First Policy Institute, in a panel titled “The 2024 Election: What You Should Know and How To Engage.”
Berry explained how he worked with pro-Trump election board members in Georgia to require recount procedures involving hand recounts prior to certification of the results. His proposed rules are regarded by most experts as an attempt to disrupt the election procedures, and a Georgia judge ruled earlier this week that they are “unconstitutional, illegal and void.”
Berry also boasted about his group’s defense of voter intimidation efforts. ‘The other side made it a crime to engage in intimidating or harassing behavior,” he scoffed. “We need to be able to fully exercise our First Amendment rights on November 5.”
The summit also discussed the menace of a “One World Government” — one that will purportedly be imposed on God-fearing Americans by means of a conspiracy between the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization. This was the subject of a panel titled “A Conversation About Global Governance and the WHO.”
Responding to Perkins, who asked, “Was COVID-19 a test of global governance?” Travis Weber, vice-president for Policy and Government Affairs for the Family Research Council, responded, “Yes! Absolutely.” He continued by saying “the forces that humankind has created, Tower of Babel-like, are leading us to an ability to create a system of even tighter control and quicker response.”
Gabe Lyons, founder and President of THINQ, emphasized the importance of resisting global control in areas such as digital currency, expressing his belief that “this nation is the one nation to resist this.” He stressed that engagement with local leaders, including congressman and county sheriffs, can both build trust and impact resistance at higher levels of government.
The remedy for many of the ills identified at Pray Vote Stand was to get out the conservative Christian vote. A particularly telling exchange toward the end of Krause’s seminar on First Amendment jurisprudence concerned the use of churches to mobilize the base.
“I’m confused. Is the Johnson Amendment gone?” a woman asked Krause, referring to the IRS rule that prohibits charities from promoting political candidates.
Krause answered, “If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound?” The audience laughed knowingly. “It’s supposed to be there, but nobody is ever prosecuted for it. Not one church has been prosecuted,” he said.
But if it were, he made clear, he’d be ready to take the case. “So if you want to be one of those pastors, call us. That’d be a great test case as well.”
Julie Roys contributed to this report.
Katherine Stewart is an American journalist and contributor to Religion News Service.
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33 Responses
This group is disgusting… It has “Pray” in its title but brags about being bullies and lawbreakers. This is not a true praying, it Christian, group.
They will have to answer for their lack of faith in Christ’s way and the effects their behavior has on the watching unsaved world. So much for the Great Commission.
I pray that these in the world recognize these people as the nominal “Christians” they are and are driven to seek out the real Christ in Scripture… since many American Christians no longer point the lost to Him.
I’m sad that the Roys Report is obviously full of woke people. I wonder if abuse in the Christian church has left former Christians jaded and angry. The truth of the bible still stands. God’s laws and ways have not changed and true people of God stand up and defend Him and try to proclaim His ways and truths. The way is narrow that leads to life and the way is broad that leads to damnation.
Kim – “woke” doesn’t mean what you think it means. You have misused it as some sort of weapon or insult.
“Woke” means awake and aware of injustice, which scripture calls us to be. So be concerned of Christians who are asleep.
Kim D D,
“The truth of the bible still stands. God’s laws and ways have not changed and true people of God stand up and defend Him and try to proclaim His ways and truths.”
That is not being preached anymore in the church, they defer to Paul’s “saved by grace” nonsense, that automatically forgives their behavior. Which “allows” everyone to do what they want to without holding their conduct to the 10 Commandments, or having to ask for forgiveness from God, and repenting to HIM from their sins.
Per T.D. Jakes:
“He continued, “The worst that could happen, if everything was true, all I got to do is repent sincerely, from my heart. There’s enough power in the blood to cover all kinds of sin. I don’t care what it is, the blood would fix it. But I ain’t got to repent about this.””
No mention of going to God for forgiveness of his sins, only self repentance in his heart.
Kim the end is near..the time has come that those who will not accept sound doctrine . has arrived..satans ministers..apostate chuches ,,woke religions.. ecumenicals . will not be with us in the eternal kingdom..remember,satans ministers..come as angels of light to decieve..and the day will come, we will be free of them,,hang in there to the end and never give up..no matter how bad it gets god bless you
“The trans movement is about erasing a family union, which is meant to be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,”
I find that quote very strange. If it’s about family, where’s the mother? If it’s about the Godhead, why use it in the context of human families?
Nothing like a bit of bad exegesis . . . like don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.
“If it’s about family, where’s the mother?”
Some churches are teaching the Holy Spirit is female, or feminine.
1st heard about this in 2018, when attending a former friends church.
” If it’s about the Godhead, why use it in the context of human families? ”
To assert control by making everything about religious dogma, including a subject – human families – that is a sociological phenomenon with a lot of variety over time and geography.
The assertion Ms. Bauwens makes about the family unit and the Godhead, does have a theological basis. The nuclear family unit of father, mother and child(ren) is a human image of (inasmuch as anything in Creation can resemble) our triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. How? “Holy Spirit is considered to be feminine – ‘spirit’ (Hebrew: ruach) is grammatically feminine”.
If find Ms Bauwens’ rhetoric ironic and fear mongering (lack of faith/trust in God). If marriage and the nuclear family is an image of the Godhead, isn’t it up to God to protect that image? And hasn’t He done so for millennia?
People act as if the trans movement is some special and new attack on the nuclear family. The nuclear family (Genesis 2:24, 1:22), has been under attack from the very beginning. We just don’t see those attacks as such, that’s all. Starting with plural marriage, divorce, adultery, and perversions of every sort – aren’t these attacks too?
(A bit of sarcasm follows…) One has to avoid talking about divorce… because the claiming american evangelical red tribe has about the same rate as the non-churchy world, with all the attendant mayhem to families and children as the rest… Must deflect! Point the finger elsewhere (Trans!) to keep the tribe focused on the goals; Ignore your own sins, grab power and wield it against other sinners – maintain the caste system of not-so-bad sinners (us) vs the really bad! sinners (them); with the not-so-bads on top of course…
The imposition of Christian values upon an entire nation that was built on a foundation of the freedom to worship as one chooses is not “religious persecution.”
We are no longer arguing abortion rights when doctors are terrified to perform a simple dilation and curettage when a mother miscarries. Telling women to go home until she is septic or close to it is unacceptable healthcare. Christian Nationalism is putting the lives of women at risk, and does nothing to draw people closer to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
What a proud and haughty group of so-called Christians. Taking things they feel are illegal to the Supreme Court while ignoring their own illegal action of supporting a political candidate while operating as nonprofit organizations. May God himself expose their sin for all to see, and shut down their ungodly tactics and participation before this election is done!
Why doesn’t the Religious Right push to have the Beatitudes displayed publicly rather than the 10 Commandments?
David Kimball
Good question! They’ll persecute a Jew or a Sabbath-keeping Christian in a heartbeat. My husband almost lost his job this year to a new supervisor who insisted that Christians go to church on Sunday. The only religious liberty they’ll protect is their own.
MJ Belko said: “My husband almost lost his job this year to a new supervisor who insisted that Christians go to church on Sunday. The only religious liberty they’ll protect is their own.”
Sorry this happened. Regrettably, this mindset has a long history. Just as an example, the Puritans came to America (1620-1640), supposedly for the freedom to worship God according to the dictates of their conscience. Ironically, they did not accord Quakers that same religious liberty they sought for themselves. Quakers were banished, by law, from Massachusetts Colony. And when some Quakers refused to stay banned or silenced, four were put to death (1660). Barely decades after arriving in the New World. The Quakers’ crime? Preaching and believing salvation through faith alone in Jesus, no works.
Then there were the “patriots” who persecuted, even killed, some Anabaptists (Amish, Mennonite, Moravians, etc.) for their stance on pacifism and not participating in the Revolutionary War. So yeah, power corrupts.
“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many… The greatest among you will be your servant.” ~Jesus
Spot on, David!
If “the Law came in so that the offense would increase” (Romans 5:20), then wouldn’t it stand to reason that displaying the 10 Commandments may actually trigger sin rather than quell it? Is it coincidence that there are 10 Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12)?
What purposes do people hope to accomplish by public displays of the 10 Commandments? How about conducting long-term studies, gather data, to see if that society trends towards or away from those goals?
Misunderstanding the purpose of, and misapplying, the (Old Covenant) Law in a New Covenant ethos can have unintended consequences.
Good point.
They could even post the 2 greatest commandments
Just curious…
1) Is the Republican party’s pivot regarding abortion, a case of the dog catching the car that it has chased for so long? Now that the car is caught, what do you do next, to keep the votes coming?
2) Was it always the case that our choice in voting wasn’t between pro-life and pro-choice, but between pro-choice and pro-choice masquerading as pro-life? Without taking our focus on saving every child we can, is legislation the best or most effective way to solve the issue?
3) If I’m right about the above, why would either party be interested in doing anything about the border? Right now, porous borders are a great vote-getting strategy for Republicans. I mean, why cook your golden goose?
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ~Jesus
“My kingdom is not of this world.” ~Jesus
On the border issue, note how an immigration bill, started by a Republican and with strong bipartisan support and a promise by Biden to sign it, was torpedoed at Trump’s request so he could still use the issue for this campaign.
Well, as Mick Jagger sang, You Can’t Always Get What You Want.
This is the public face of Christianity today. These idolators may have some temporary political victories, but turning America into a Calvinist or Romanist Theocracy, is not the way to win hearts and minds. It is the way however, to eventually alienate the vast majority of nonbelievers from ever considering Christianity a viable option for their lives. What would attract people to a religion in which the adherents aren’t even decent human beings?
u*surp*er
noun: a person who takes a position of power or importance by force
self-importance
noun: arrogant or pompous behavior.
They were deceived by a deceiver, but still somehow think they have answers and power.
“Oh Lord…”YOU” rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in Your hand,
and no one can withstand You.” (2 Chronicles 20:6)
“and no one can withstand You” – especially a group promoting a Politian, a vile and despicable one at that, to bring about Heaven on Earth.
They should be hiding in shame right about now, and praying for their OWN repentance.
Agree 💯! I believe the Seven Mountain Mandate crowd is dangerous.
It seems unwise to sacrifice the good for the perfect. Paul didn’t place an outright ban on slavery, but “got a nose under the tent” in addressing this human conflict (Philemon 1:12-18, Eph. 6:5). The Apostle did give full civil rights to women, but “got a nose under the tent” in addressing their treatment (1 Cor. 14:34-35). Paul didn’t call for the pagan brutal empire of Rome to be overthrown (Rom. 13:1-5). Unless one is willing to pick up a gun and give their lives for a ban on abortion (like slavery), or unless one is willing to live under a theocracy where morality is legislated (like ancient Israel), perhaps the focus on changing the immoral behavior of a country is to start with changing hearts – faith alone in Christ alone for eternal life. Hearts lead to lives lead to families lead to communities lead ultimately to countries. Sanctification through Christ-like can become a reality after a spiritually dead person is born again.
Maybe the far right evangelicals need to choose losing a few babies going to Jesus early or losing an entire nation causing many to go to hell.
If one listens to Democrat candidates and liberal media Republicans are planning on making all abortions illegal for any reason. Those on the left say that Trump nominated 3 supreme court justices for the sole purpose of making all abortions illegal. But then I see Christian groups like the one in this article complain that Republicans are no better than Democrats on this issue so they may stay home on election day. Seems like a bit of truth stretching from both sides.
Trump put 3 justices on the supreme court to overturn Roe, and that resulted in a net INCREASE in abortions. It also led to an increase in maternal deaths and infant mortality rates in states that have strict bans on abortion.
Compare that to democratic administrations, which make “all abortions legal”, which actually means that medical decisions are made between a patient and their doctor, based on that patient’s medical needs, and yet see faster decreases in the abortion rates.
It’s not intuitive unless you realize that republicans are banning a bad act, and democrats are addressing the causes of outcomes they want to reduce.
jen m,
The only change that came about from the overturn of R v W, is it became a State issue, not Federal, meaning each State will decide its’ abortion laws. If you do not like your States abortion laws, take it up with your State representatives.
“CNN —
Two years ago, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to an abortion and setting off a fierce fight for reproductive rights at the state level. “
To paraphrase Russell Johnson:
Christians should not vote for politicians who believe free speech is a privilege to be granted, instead of a right to be protected.
Christians should not vote for politicians who believe in a woman’s right to choose, but don’t have the intellectual courage to define what a woman is, and believe gender is a construct and biology is irrelevant.
Christians should not vote for politicians who believe the government knows better how to raise your children than you do.
Christians should not vote for politicians who believe late term abortion is acceptable, marriage is flexible, the family unit is disposable and moms and dads are replaceable.
“Christians should not vote for politicians who believe the government knows better how to raise your children than you do.”
This is a very widespread belief that is held across many faiths and religions.
The irony is that Christians will say this….then try to use the government to enact and enforce laws to make everyone raise their kids according to Christian beliefs.
If you truly believe parents know how to raise children better than the government, let PARENTS decide what their children can read and learn – don’t go using the government to ban books and curricula you don’t like. Have the conversation in your home as a parent, and trust other parents to do the same – even those who disagree with you.
Sounds like politicians got to politicking.
This is why I’ve been so concerned at how the church has idolized the GOP, equating being a member or supporter with being a “true”Christian.
So, now what?
Funny how abortion wasn’t an issue to evangelicals until it was needed as political cover for protecting segregation academies.