> Forces like MAGA are fundamentally rooted in the Bible Belt. Their lives are bound up with religious community, and they become right wing based on those values.

I think this is very clearly not the case. MAGA acts in direct opposition to christian values and Trump's actions demonstrate that he proudly rejects the teachings of Jesus. Whatever it is that attracts Christians to MAGA it isn't their religion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ2L-R8NgrA

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jdw64 2 hours ago | parent [-]

>MAGA acts in direct opposition to christian values

I agree with what you're saying, but personally, I think this is what the corruption of the Christian faith community looks like. Church communities may not actually take Jesus's teachings all that seriously, but they have Christian broadcasting, schools, the historical view that America is a Christian nation, and a sense of crisis about certain progressive ideas like abortion and such. At this point, I think Trump comes across not so much as a messiah but more as a kind of "warrior" for them. He has moral flaws, but he fights against the forces that are attacking us. In other words, the role of group protector takes priority over personal piety.

Historically speaking, whether a form of religion survives isn't determined solely by how pure it is, is it? In the end, it comes down to what kind of explanation it offers for the anxieties of life. First of all, I want to make it clear that I have absolutely no intention of dismissing your Christian faith. I want to emphasize again that I agree with you that they are violating Christian values, and that devout believers like you are the ones suffering the consequences.

Every time real world communism fails, people say "that wasn't true communism." And every time Christian communities repeatedly support political forces that go against the teachings of Jesus, people say "it's not because of the religion." If we keep doing that, we end up arbitrarily severing the relationship between ideology and reality. Just as we call the state of the modern world the corruption of capitalism, I think the MAGA movement shows what happens when a Christian community follows the wrong shepherd.

First of all, I'm sorry if I unintentionally attacked your faith. But I also respect Jesus. He was a remarkable person. It's just that, as you know, I'm criticizing the act of leaving a stain on his name.

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		I should have been more clear. I myself am not Christian, but I did grow up in a Christian household and have studied the faith. I think there is a worrying amount of idolatry in MAGA, but I'd agree that Christian nationalism plays a huge part (as does Christofascism). While ultimately Christianity is whatever its followers say it is, I think it's still worth calling attention to the clear contradictions. Not only out of acknowledgement/courtesy to those who really do try to follow the bible's teachings, but also on the off chance that it causes some MAGA supporter enough cognitive dissonance that they're forced to really think about what it is they've been supporting.