Inside the GOP Evangelical Mind: Obsession with Gays and Loss of White Privilege

This blog is not kind to the evangelical Christian base of the Republican Party and, in my view, rightfully so.  These people simply put are not nice and selfishness and hypocrisy are their principal attributes.  They seem utterly incapable of seeing the common humanity of others who may have a different skin color, hold a different religious faith, speak a different language or a different sexual orientation.  It's the milder version of the mindset that over the centuries that set the stage for wars of religion and slaughter of men women and children.  Meanwhile, these people pat themselves on the back for their piety even as they disregard every Gospel directive to feed the hungry, cloth the naked and shelter the homeless.  Recently, a study was done utilizing focus groups to get into the minds of elements of the GOP base.  Here are the findings on the evangelical Christians:

Evangelicals are a third of the Republican base; they are the biggest and most intense group:

four in five are "strong” Republicans and straight ticket voters. Over three quarters are married and well over 90 percent are white. Their demographics white, married, religious and older sets up a feeling that they are losing. They talk about how the dominant politics and cultures have encroached on their small towns, schools, and churches. What troubles them when they talk with friends, family, and fellow believers is Obamacare, guns, government encroachment, gay marriage, and “culture rot.”

They sense they are “pretty white” and “didn’t go to Harvard”  and “we’re just not [Obama]”which means they are becoming a pretty “politically incorrect minority.” The so-called “tolerant” liberals just aren’t very tolerant when it comes to them.

It used to be different, as illustrated by several men in Roanoke when describing their own towns. 

It’s a little bubble. So everybody it’s like a Lake Wobegon. Everybody is above average. Everybody is happy. Everybody is white. Everybody is middle class, whether or not they really are. Everybody looks that way. Everybody goes to the same pool. Everybody goes – there’s one library, one post office. Very homogenous.  (Evangelical man, Roanoke)

And the point of departure for being a politically incorrect minority is what’s happening with the acceptance of homosexuality and the gay agenda.

Giving gay and lesbian citizens of the right to marry the person they love can seriously harm them, and seriously harm the children that they were raising. (Evangelical man, Roanoke).

They believe the dominant national culture promotes homosexuality and makes this “minority” culturally “normal.” There is a conspiracy to push “the gay agenda.”

The fact that it is so prominent, that's day to day. Like...that stupid song on 96.1... It's on every five minutes. The “I can't change” song. It's on constantly. It's song promoting gay and lesbian rights and all that stuff. But it's so prominent. It's every 10 minutes.  (Evangelical woman, Colorado Springs)

So, we should not be surprised that the Evangelicals are not politically correct on immigration.  In this case their feeling of being invaded is literal, as when they discuss immigration in graphic terms, and point to language as what bothers them most :

“Don’t come here and make me speak your language. Don’t fly your flag. You’re on American soil. You’re American.”; You come to our country, you need to learn our language.  (Evangelical men, Roanoke)

There's much more, including findings on the Tea Party which is considered almost heroic by the evangelicals.