From King Cyrus to Queen Esther: Christian Zionists’ discursive construction of Donald Trump as God’s instrument
When Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential elections with the help of 81 percent of self-identified white evangelicals, liberal commentators, relying on folk-conceptions of religion that privileged concepts like morality and belief, struggled to understand how someone who seemed to lack both could...
| Published in: | Critical research on religion |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
[2020]
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| In: |
Critical research on religion
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
USA
/ Evangelical movement
/ Zionist Christian Church
/ Trump, Donald 1946-
/ God
/ Tool
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| IxTheo Classification: | CG Christianity and Politics CH Christianity and Society KBQ North America KDG Free church KDH Christian sects |
| Further subjects: | B
Barack Obama
B Discourse Analysis B philosophy of history B Donald Trump B Christian Zionism B 2016 Presidential Election |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | When Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential elections with the help of 81 percent of self-identified white evangelicals, liberal commentators, relying on folk-conceptions of religion that privileged concepts like morality and belief, struggled to understand how someone who seemed to lack both could garner such support. Since then scholars have provided various explanations, relating to Christian nationalism evangelical appeals to authoritarianism, and straightforward racism. This article aims to expand this discussion by analyzing the way that evangelical Christian Zionists have supported Trump by rhetorically identifying him as God’s instrument on account of his support for Israel and withdrawal of the United States from the Iran Nuclear Deal. In addition to analyzing the process by which Trump is constituted as God’s instrument, the article also demonstrates more generally how religious discourse functions as a legitimating discourse for those who seek to gain, or maintain, positions of power. |
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| ISSN: | 2050-3040 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Critical research on religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/2050303220924078 |