In recent weeks, Donald Trump has signaled a shift in rhetoric regarding abortion rights, using his characteristically imprecise and jelly-like language. When pressed on this change in an interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker, Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, said Trump would veto any nationwide abortion ban that came across his desk in a second term.
The change ignited a firestorm among some of the former president’s anti-abortion evangelical followers on X, leading them to question whether Trump can continue to count on their support.
Setting aside the futility of deciphering his intentions on the issue and whether the pro-life outrage was genuine or performative, I suspect these recent developments will prove what has always been true: Donald Trump understands discipleship.
Those who grew up during the height of the Southern Baptist Convention and underwent all its rites of passage will remember Training Union, which eventually became known as Discipleship Training. These programs usually occurred on Sunday evenings and were designed to be more intensive times of Christian education than what we got during Sunday School and worship.
The underpinning of Discipleship Training and the general Christian concept of discipleship is that we don’t tend to believe ourselves into proper action; we act our way into proper belief. In a world that revered the Protestant declaration of “salvation by faith, not works,” discipleship programs often serve as a workaround to ensure “proper” behavior for Christians.
To be sure, discipleship is a biblical and theologically faithful concept. However, it is often used as a tool for Christian leaders in power to steer believers into a narrow lane of understanding of faith.
The curriculum for the Discipleship Training program I went through as a child consisted of Ralph Neighbour’s “Survival Kit for New Christians.” The book, adapted for children, taught five principles for spiritual growth. These included a daily “quiet time,” Bible Study, fellowship with other believers, evangelism, and obedience to God’s commands.
The central idea is that if you practice each of these as often as possible, you will become the type of Christian you are “supposed to be.”
Though I doubt it officially made its way into the material as a “sixth principle,” an additional practice began to take hold in the early ‘80s and reached its zenith in the early years of the 21st century: single-issue voting.
The single issue, of course, was abortion.
It is well-documented that evangelicals shifted their focus on restricting abortion rights because it was a more compelling issue to organize around than racism. Under the guise of “life,” they trained generations of conservative Christians to mobilize behind the impossible-to-resist concept of “saving babies.”
They convinced these followers that the only effective way to “save babies” was to legally restrict or ban women’s access to abortion, and all that began at the ballot box. Most significantly, they attached this principle firmly to the Republican Party.
However, we know from research and the stories of women that there are myriad ways to reduce abortions. These include making parenthood easier through paid family leave, requiring employers to pay living wages, and ensuring universal access to affordable healthcare.
It is also known that restricting abortion doesn’t reduce the practice. However, expanding access to it, coupled with comprehensive sex education, might.
Few in the anti-abortion movement support any of these policy proposals. I’ve seen white, evangelical “pro-lifers” hold up signs that read, “I’ll raise your baby!” to women seeking an abortion. I’ve yet to see a sign that reads, “I’ll fight like hell for systems that make it easier for you to be a parent!”
It doesn’t quite roll off the tongue the same way. But it also betrays the point that political power, rather than life, has always been the issue.
I think many of the evangelical leaders feigning outrage at Trump’s shift in tone on abortion are doing so because they know the jig is up. The Scooby-Doo crew has arrived at the unmasking scene.
However, some may think that speaking out will convince him to reverse course once he realizes he may lose more votes than he will gain.
What they don’t understand is that “pro-life” voters were never trained to advance the cause of life. They were trained to vote Republican. These “true believers” don’t know the power of discipleship.
Donald Trump does.
Senior Editor at Good Faith Media.
