From The Christian Century
This is an abbreviated version of the story. For the full story, click here.
For months pundits have been predicting—and Republican leaders have been hoping—that Donald Trump will self-destruct. Yet each time Trump makes another outrageous claim, his popularity rises among a certain sector of voters—mostly white, working-class Americans with less than a college education.
Trump fits the classic definition of a demagogue. A demagogue taps into widespread emotions, fears, and prejudices, channeling popular unrest for political gain. Rather than offer workable solutions to real problems, a demagogue promises rash actions which, if enacted, would endanger democratic governance—as in Trump’s suggestion, following the mass killings in San Bernardino, California, that all Muslims should be kept out of the country.
…
Trump’s candidacy has also provided a wake-up call on religious liberty. Exploiting fear and ignorance, he works to undermine the rights of Muslims to equal treatment, and their ability to be welcomed in this country. As Brent Walker of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty comments, “It is wrong to scapegoat—to blame an entire religion for the despicable acts of a handful of murderous outliers who claim that religious affiliation.”
…
Click here to read the article on the Christian Century website.
