By Abbey Rodriguez | FāVS News
The Pew Research Center recently released results from a new survey which found white evangelical Christians to be more in favor of President Donald Trump than any other Christian groups.
FāVS News reached out to 21 different Protestant churches in the Spokane area to see how these national results compared to the local political climate in Spokane. Of the 21 churches contacted, four agreed to an interview.
Church Identities
Pew Research designated three protestant categories in its survey findings: white evangelical, white not evangelical and Black Protestant.
Matt Allhands, pastor of Coram Deo Presbyterian Church (PCA) identified Coram Deo’s congregation to be evangelical, “but I wouldn’t say that we’re predominantly white evangelical. We [the PCA denomination as a whole] have a number of churches with Asian pastors and members and a growing number of African American churches within our denomination as well.”
Steve Watts, on the other hand, pastor and head of staff at Hamblen Park Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) identified his congregation as white, not evangelical, saying the word evangelical has “developed in our culture as something that’s quite apart from any kind of Biblical faith” and that Hamblen Park “wouldn’t want to have anything to do with it at this point.”
Mark Wheeler who has served as a pastor at Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) since 1994 and currently serves as the stated clerk for the Presbytery of the Inland Northwest, said Lidgerwood falls in between white evangelical and white, not evangelical according to Pew’s description.
“We have a spectrum in our congregation,” he said.
Whitworth Community Presbyterian Church similarly felt the Pew categories were too narrow. Daniel White, pastor at Whitworth Community said that while their congregation is “evangelical” they are “decidedly apolitical.”
According to Pew’s results, 72% of white evangelicals approve of how Trump is handling his job in the White House. White said that Pew’s designation of white evangelicals correlates with Christians who feel the need to “take back America for Jesus.” Rather than following Jesus who’s “kingdom is not of this world.”
Disagreement within Congregations
Allhands commented about national tension saying that as “the [2024 presidential] election drew closer and closer, I found myself bracing for impact.”
Prepared for the worst, Allhands has found that national politics haven’t “created a huge disruption in the life of the church.”
He also expressed that he sees media to be one of the primary causes for disagreements within his congregation.
He said when it comes to disagreements that stem from internet content, “it’s a good thing to consider whether people are reading primary sources like actual policies and legislation or just an opposing article that has more editorial content than actual data.”
He added that polarizing media shuts down “positive speculation” and “curiosity” about those around us.
White expressed concern about churches becoming too politically involved, saying “when the church takes the role that the Pew Research is critiquing, I mean, God help us. We’re on shaky ground theologically.”
He argued that Christians lack biblical justification for claiming they should control the country’s government.
“The core issue” as Watts see it “is Christian nationalism.”
Watts shared that Hamblen Park Presbyterian recently hosted a professor from Gonzaga to discuss the pros and cons of Christian nationalism while creating a space for conversation surround this polarizing topic.
Watts commented on Hamblen Park’s commitment to creating space for conversation surrounding national politics, saying “we’ve been able to talk about that [Christian nationalism] upfront and openly and without offense, really, and give a forum for people to process that.”
Wheeler explained that for Lidgerwood congregants, “the polarization is still there, but it’s not in an offensive or defensive mode…We’re [the Lidgerwood Congregation] able to look through the polarization and see something that’s deeper, that’s worth holding on to.”
The Importance of Community
All four pastors who interviewed with FāVS emphasized the importance of community within their churches, despite a range of political beliefs.
For Lidgerwood, a small church of 42 members, Wheeler said that while differences do arise, “We are able to look past them and still love each other and listen to each other and share with each other.”
He emphasized that the ability to love one another amongst differences is crucial especially in small communities where “everybody does know, everybody else.”
Wheeler shared that he also regularly engages with people who he disagrees with from large multi-church activities in the Hillyard area to individual lunches with pastors of all different denominations and beliefs. This has given his congregation a unique opportunity to engage with and care for those with differing political beliefs on a regular basis.
Allhands said that at Coram Deo, “the conversation is a is a lot healthier this time around in terms of Trump’s presidency than it was last time around. So, I’m encouraged. I feel like we’ve learned, in all of the conflict, we’ve learned to listen a little bit more.”
In terms of conflict resolution within his congregation, Allhands said, “As a pastor, one of the first questions that I would ask is, you think that this is something that’s work worth losing a relationship with somebody in the church chamber?” he furthered that conflict resolution is “a lot of walking people through a process of understanding how people are making conclusion”
For Hamblen Park, Watts describes his congregation as a “purple church” saying that “for a lot of people, our church is the only place in their lives where they actually do have friends from across the aisle.”
Focusing on community is not meant to minimize the importance of national politics, he said, but to create space to learn from and listen to people one might disagree with.
Wheeler summed it up, saying that we must “recognize that that there’s a center that’s more important than our politics, that holds us together” even if we will never agree on who to vote for.
