The Immoral Majority

Starred review from June 24, 2019
Conservative commentator Howe censures the evangelical movement that helped elect Donald Trump president in this pointed debut. The son of a pastor, Howe became disillusioned with Christian power-grabbing actions during the 2016 elections; it was, he notes, “what happens when the people who believe they have the moral high ground find themselves on the low road.” Howe then explains why he believes evangelicals became enamored of Trump, specifically that they could look past his morally corrupt nature as long as he delivered politically conservative objectives. A major factor of the evangelical belief in Trump, he writes, is “vessel theology,” in which men who feel little agency see themselves as vessels of God to do His work on earth—thus connecting with other Biblical giants such as Judas, Paul, and Noah. In this way, Trump’s unconventional (or even sinful) behavior could be justified by the idea that “God can use anyone” to bring about change. Mixing political commentary, historical facts, and personal narrative, Howe offers a critical yet compassionate call to arms for fellow evangelicals to remember their religious obligations as upholders of high moral standards. He also predicts that, though Trump has appeased his religious base on some issues, the president will become less interested in faith-based gains after he achieves his political goals. Howe’s trenchant work will appeal to anyone concerned with the evangelical embrace of the Trump presidency.

August 1, 2019
With sorrow, some pain, but hope, too, filmmaker and columnist Howe writes out his disappointment with fellow conservative evangelical Christians' embrace of Donald Trump. It's not just that the most prominent religious Right spokespersons endorsed, without demurral, a presidential candidate with flaws as apparent as an Access Hollywood tape. It's that, after his victory, they continued the practice and upped the ante by not just winking at new moral outrages and credible new evidence of previous accusations but by also loudly defending him and egging him on. Howe knows the reasons for this: continuing loss of the culture war, persecution by the Left (i.e., Democrats), anger at being stigmatized as racist?all of which, he says, led to self-righteousness, permanent outrage, and the practice of politics as if it were take-no-prisoners warfare, demanding unconditional surrender. But is this Christian? Howe says it's a case of believing any means used to reach desired ends are justified. Though his meanings are clear, Howe's prose is rough, as if it were incompletely edited from dictation. Still, this is an inside take from an interesting source.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)