Opinion: National Media’s Use of ‘Evangelical Christianity’ Label is Intellectually Lazy and Inaccurate
For decades, mainstream media has applied the phrase “Evangelical Christian” in a manner that implies the majority of protestants active in their respective churches are included in the category. Any reputable journalist who researched “evangelical megachurch” leaders would discover that while there are several groups among Christians that could be deemed “evangelical” due to their desire to share their faith with friends, family and occasional strangers, the churches that show the most support for Trump are Charismatic Pentecostal Christians. The largest denomination representing this known as the “Assemblies of God” church. (*There are also plenty of random non-denominational churches, which aren’t bound to any particular doctrine, so they can’t be categorized any further.)
In several key areas of doctrine and practice, Assemblies of God churches operate and interpret scripture in a distinctly different manner than the largest historical denominations such as Southern Baptists, Lutherans, Presbyterians and Methodists. Key differences between AG churches and other denominations include belief in the power of healing oils, speaking in tongues, psychic prophetic visions and instant medical healing through prayer, often seen on cable TV. The sensationalistic style of these pastors is often parodied and mocked in satirical comedies.
One of the reasons Trump was able to build such a strong support base from this group is that many charismatics have built-in distrust of western medicine and major institutions including the federal government, particularly the FDA and CDC. AG churches also preach an apocalyptic view of the world where current news headlines are regularly compared to passages in the book of Revelation. This weekly exercise fuels conspiracy theories and distrust of authority, which thrived throughout the COVID outbreak and Trump’s claim of a stolen election by the “establishment”, namely Washington D.C. “elites.”
As a Christian of more than 30 years, I feel compelled to point out these vital differences, because there are millions of Christians who don’t boycott Western Medicine or overlook Trump’s actions, or believe that Washington DC is overrun by people who drink the blood of infants. Sadly, the vocal minority receives the most attention from the press and is viewed as Protestant Christianity’s unofficial bellwether.
