Summary
Evangelical Christians have fallen prey to the temptations offered by Donald Trump, similar to those faced by Jesus in the desert. Trump has offered evangelicals wealth, protection, and power, leading them away from the teachings of Jesus and closer to the path set forth by the devil. The evangelical church has submitted to Trump, moving further from the values of serving the poor, healing the sick, and loving neighbors.
I’m from the Bible belt and in my experience these people absolutely believe in God and heaven, but probably very little past that. These people mostly have a “vibes based” understanding of their religion but many of them believe it to their absolute core. Most don’t read the bible past the popular verses and even less actually analyze what the text is saying, but that by no means indicates a lack of belief. It’s important to remember that their actions may indicate a lack of belief in the morals they espouse, but that’s cognitive dissonance not secret non-belief.
And they shouldn’t bother reading anything that old and outdated, all religious texts are inadequate for addressing societal issues without regression or conservatism. Look at what’s happening to lgbt+ folk, none of this is okay, and religion is to blame