Triggering a wave of mockery

Written by

Ophelia Benson

in

So is Trump a god-botherer or no?

No.

White House Faith Advisor Paula White-Cain’s attempt to rehabilitate the president’s religious image during a Fox News appearance backfired spectacularly Saturday night, triggering a wave of mockery after claiming he attended Saturday and Sunday school up to three times a week as a child.

Also, even if he had attended goddy school as a child, that wouldn’t establish that he’s goddy now. I was dragged to church a few times as a child and I hated every second of it. It didn’t make me religious.

White-Cain made the claim during a conversation with Laura Trump, telling Fox viewers that “many people don’t know about the upbringing of President Trump” before adding that he “went to, sometimes, three times a week to, he said, depending on the teacher, to Saturday school, Sunday school, church.”

“Church was a big part of his life,” she insisted.

Church can be a big part of your life in childhood and teach you to dislike religion. Some people change as they get older. Life is complicated.

Trump has leaned heavily into religious imagery during his second term, frequently invoking God’s blessing and surrounding himself with evangelical allies like White-Cain.

Trump has leaned heavily into a lot of things. He’s an eclectic kind of guy, or to put it another way, he’s random.

Comments

6 responses to “Triggering a wave of mockery”

  1. Mostly Cloudy Avatar
    Mostly Cloudy

    He is indeed random. In his latest rant, Trump, who made demonising Muslims a key part of his campaigns, said ‘Praise be to Allah’.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cm29zmpdj3vt

  2. Your Name's not Bruce? Avatar
    Your Name’s not Bruce?

    Also, even if he had attended goddy school as a child, that wouldn’t establish that he’s goddy now.

    It also would not establish that he’s a good or kind person, which, to my mind, is a much more important and beneficial characteristic.

  3. iknklast Avatar
    iknklast

    Yes, and attending church now is no indication of god-belief. Nor is not attending church an indication of non-belief. A lot of believers don’t attend church, but may be very devout.

    I don’t think he’s an atheist; I don’t think he’s really a Christian, either. I think he is someone who believes in God because he believes both that he is God, and that God has uniquely favored him over everyone else.

    I was at a speech of a relative of his recently; she said he believes in god, but not necessarily what most Christians would think. She said he believes in prosperity gospel…that he is rich because he is beloved and chosen. I suspect that is probably close to what he believes…at least, when he thinks about belief, which is probably not often. Like most the believers I know, you would not see outward manifestations of belief, partially because in his case his belief is only in himself (that he is chosen), and partially because most people live secular lives most of the time.

  4. Ophelia Benson Avatar
    Ophelia Benson

    [Mostly Cloudy, did you mean to use a different name? I switched it in case you didn’t, will revert if you did.]

  5. Mostly Cloudy Avatar
    Mostly Cloudy

    No, I used a different name by mistake.

    Thanks for switching it to my usual name for posts here.

  6. Ophelia Benson Avatar
    Ophelia Benson

    Thanks for commenting here!

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