In March 2016, an investigation by Klaus Marre found evidence that Donald Trump’s professed strong Christianity was in doubt.

Trump declared himself a Presbyterian Protestant, saying he attends Marble Collegiate Church and has had great experiences in the church. But although his family has a long history with Marble Collegiate Church, the church said Trump himself is not an active member. The director of marketing communications said Marble Collegiate Church is part of the Reformed Church in America, and therefore isn’t even Trump’s denomination.

Trump also spoke highly about his late pastor at the Iowa Family Leadership Summit. He said he heard “unbelievable” sermons from him and didn’t want them to end. At the same time, he has also said he doesn’t ask God for forgiveness if he thinks he did something wrong.

While Trump keeps saying the Bible is his favorite book, an audience at Liberty University laughed at him for citing the book wrong during a speech. Not only did he fail to answer what his favorite Bible verses are, Trump couldn’t even properly answer simple questions, such as if he is an ‘Old Testament guy’ or a ‘New Testament guy.’ The president of the Family Research Council said Trump was not familiar with the Bible.

Also, Trump barely mentioned the Bible and religion in his books written before 2012, Marre notes. He only started talking about religious beliefs frequently after he started running for the Republican leadership. Despite these holes in Trump’s story, the corporate media is content to cover a few gaffes, without deeply questioning his professed religious affiliations and background.

References

Klaus Marre, “THE BACK STORY TO TRUMP’S ASTONISHING “STRONG CHRISTIAN” LIE.” WhoWhatWhy. March 8, 2016, http://whowhatwhy.org/2016/03/08/the-gospel-according-to-donald-trump/

Student Researcher: Cheryl Lu (University of Regina)

Faculty Evaluator: Patricia W. Elliott (University of Regina)

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