Much of the response to Donald Trump’s presidency from Christians in the UK has centred on ethical assessment. Christians rightly recognise that character matters and have a concern for the disadvantaged and disenfranchised.
Moral clarity is indeed a gift Christians can offer society. And yet, discussions like this risk reducing conversations to comments from one group saying, "We need to morally condemn this thing Trump’s done," whilst others respond, "This thing he's done is good."
We need an additional discussion because it is necessary for the Church to "understand the times" (1 Chronicles 12:32); and these times are likely to prove extremely significant. Many are claiming the Trump presidency is both indicative of, and the cause of, huge shifts. That is, Trump’s presidency will change the world.
Believers in the UK might be inclined to dismiss this because Trump is the President of the USA and we’re separated by an ocean. But this is America’s world and we’re all living in it, owing to its cultural, economic and military power.
What follows then are two changes and how the church should respond.
The future of liberalism
Immediately following Trump’s election influential political scientist Francis Fukuyama published a piece in the Financial Times. In it he argued Trump’s election indicates a decisive rejection by American voters of the liberal order that has held sway in western democracies for the last 40 years; and that Trump is himself rejecting that liberal order.
Voters have decided the liberal order can’t protect against two threats to liberalism.
Firstly, "neo-liberalism", “an economic doctrine that sanctified markets and reduced the ability of governments to protect those hurt by economic change.”
And secondly, “What one might call ‘woke liberalism’ in which progressive concern for the working class was replaced by targeted protections for a narrower set of marginalised groups.”
And so they have turned to a strong man instead.
It seems this discontent runs much further than just the USA. In the UK 21% of 18-45s agree with the statement, “The best system for running a country effectively is a strong leader who doesn’t have to bother with elections”.
It’s common to point out a deficiency in ‘political theology’ in the UK. We can no longer assume comfort with the established political order or that people approve of principles previously taken for granted.
The church needs to develop, and develop quickly, a robust political theology. One which can critique the established order many are dissatisfied with and the new order many seem to be embracing.
Trans-humanism
Others have pointed out the alliance of Trump with Silicon Valley.
This alliance runs deep, as shown in the long term collaboration of tech billionaire Peter Thiel andVice-President JD Vance. It is likely to have significant consequences. Silicon Valley’s tech billionaires are confident about the power of technology to solve our problems if only red tape could be removed.
"Trans-humanism," the ideology which believes we should upgrade humanity and merge with machines for increased efficiency, has real influence. Given the power the likes of Elon Musk and Peter Thiel now hold, this vision for humanity is likely to be increasingly promoted.
The church is used to promoting its vision for humanity in the face of progressive alternatives. It will need to learn to promote its vision for humanity in the face of right wing alternatives. These alternatives may appear to be less negative about Christianity than their progressive counterparts have sometimes been. But a conservative "Christendom without Christ" will be as much in need of challenge as the progressive "Kingdom without the King."
And when it comes to how the church should respond, American novelist Wendell Berry’s words remain hauntingly prescient: “It is easy for me to imagine that the next great division of the world will be between people who wish to live as creatures and people who wish to live as machines."
This is a comment / opinion piece and reflects the author's personal view. EN is committed to publishing a range of views on Donald Trump's presidency. If you wish to submit an article on this topic, feel free to submit one for consideration, though we regret that not every submission can be acknowledged.
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