Khan Debacle Shows Religious Right Alienating Natural Allies & Need to Embrace Seculars

Donald Trump’s feud with the Khans, a Muslim-American family who lost a military son serving in Iraq, highlights a demographic problem facing the Religious Right in years to come: Life as a minority. When that happens, perhaps they’ll have greater empathy against the anti-Muslim bigotry permeating our political culture through Trump’s rhetoric. For decades, Protestant and Catholic activists have controlled the Republican Party, but the rise of decidedly secular Trump—despite his awkwardly transparent, inauthentic embrace of Two Corinthians—   is a manifestation of the Religious Right’s demise. While currently many Religious Right leaders are simpatico with Trump (think Rev. Jerry Falwell, Jr., and his wife grinning in Trump’s office next to Trump’s framed Playboy cover shoot), including on this issue of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism, these religiously-motivated activists can’t guarantee that will always be the case with either Trump or future politicians. And for that reason alone, aside from just basic human decency, they should be playing nice with secular Americans as our country generally becomes less religious and less rigid in our beliefs.  And the feeling should be mutual—we’ve yet to hear an urban, hipster Millennial recognize his privilege emboldens his xenophobia toward a Christian from Arkansas. Somehow slurs against low-income,…
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