Trump is now "non-denominational"

[lpetrich]

Trump, confirmed a Presbyterian, now identifies as ‘non-denominational Christian’ - "A rare exchange about religion-related matters with a president who, while allying closely with evangelical Christian leaders, has spoken little about his own faith."

In an exclusive interview with Religion News Service, President Trump said in a written statement that he no longer identifies as a Presbyterian and now sees himself as a non-denominational Christian.

“Though I was confirmed at a Presbyterian church as a child, I now consider myself to be a non-denominational Christian,” Trump, who has repeatedly identified as a Presbyterian in the past, said in a written response to RNS.

Saying that his parents “taught me the importance of faith and prayer from a young age,” Trump went on to say that “Melania and I have gotten to visit some amazing churches and meet with great faith leaders from around the world. During the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak, I tuned into several virtual church services and know that millions of Americans did the same.”

The questions in that interview were presented to him by his spiritual advisor Paula White.

Asked whether he learned anything spiritually from his experience of contracting COVID-19, Trump responded that he and Melania “felt the prayers of Americans from all across the country — and even around the world” when he was recovering at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“I said, ‘There were miracles coming down from heaven.’ I meant it — Melania and I are very thankful to God for looking out for our family and re-turning us to good health,” he wrote.

Referring to Religious-Right evangelical leaders like Billy Graham's son Franklin,

“These amazing people love the U.S.A. and have a genuine desire to work together for the betterment of all Americans,” Trump said. “I appreciate their prayers and am encouraged by their great faith.”

After saying that he considers himself a non-denominational Christian, which came in response to the question, “Do you consider yourself an evangelical Christian?” the president turned the discussion from his personal faith to his admiration for his evangelical advisers’ willingness to reopen their churches in the face of the pandemic. They “are passionate about America’s traditional values and want our churches to be open,“ he said.

“Thankfully, many great churches are now back open and meeting in person,” he wrote, seemingly ignoring that multiple COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred at houses of worship, including a recent “superspreader” event that took place this month at a church in Maine.

Trump refused to answer questions about his former pastor Norman Vincent Peale, author of "The Power of Positive Thinking". Also about his treatment of immigrants, his anti-Muslim travel ban, whether he has promoted evangelicals above others, and also about whether drastically reducing the number of refugees admitted means reducing the number of Xians fleeing persecution.

Instead, he bragged about all that his admin is doing for persecuted Xians all over the world.

The president then gave a wide-ranging account of what he said was his administration’s commitment to religious freedom, including sanctioning Cuba and Venezuela “because they don’t respect religious freedom,” and touting the State Department’s Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, held in 2018 and 2019, as “the largest human rights event in history.”

Trump also recalled the event on religious freedom he hosted during last September’s United Nations General Assembly in New York. “In my speech, I reminded the world’s leaders that our rights do not come from government, they come from God — and I explicitly called upon the nations of the world to end religious persecution,” he wrote.

“I followed that event with an Executive Order on Advancing International Religious Freedom,” he continued, “that solidified America’s own commitment to this critical issue, by naming it as a foreign policy priority of the United States and promising that we will respect and vigorously promote this freedom.”

...
Trump promised that he would continue to make religious freedom a priority should he win a second term. “As I said at the United Nations, America stands with believers in every country who ask only for the freedom to live according to the faith that is within their own hearts,” he said. “And we will continue to do so for as long as I am President.”

...
Trump claimed to have expanded faith outreach in the interview. “Under my Administration,” the president noted, “we have established an office or liaison in every Cabinet agency for the first time.”

 

[Politesse]

Half of a smart move; evangelicals do not favor "denominations", and identifying this way might have given him a new avenue of attack on his devoted Catholic rival, if only he'd brought it up sooner. Being Presbyterian is no help, most evangelicals would be unclear on the difference between the two. Growing up as a Lutheran, I learned that most of the people in town thought we "worshipped statues" just like the Catholics.

 

[ideologyhunter]

He should go Mormon.
1) He could borrow the magic peepstone and predict with accuracy when the covid vaccine will arrive.
2) Would allow him a fraternal basis on which to attack Romney in the future -- he could call him a Jack Mormon, etc.
3) Should his Depends bulge ever become noticeable as he waddles up the steps to Air Force One, he could says it's his holy garments.