Tenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

Donald Trump’s path to the White House was paved with the votes of evangelical Christians, specifically white evangelicals and white women. What about the point of convergence of these areas: the white evangelical woman who voted for Trump? Why did the vast majority of white evangelical women vote for Trump? What were their motivations? Was it really in their best interest? Using an intersectional approach to their identities, this paper seeks to better understand, if not complicate, this voting block. The first section will discuss whiteness: what it means as a phenomenon in America, its connection to nationalism, and white women’s role in the privileges it constructs. The second section will address the contribution of evangelical Christianity, particularly how it articulates “ideal” evangelical womanhood through the lens of authoritarianism, and will also examine the messianic expression around the figure of President Trump. The last section will delve into the gender identity of the phrase, exploring how women could ostensibly vote against their self-interest by using gender’s positionality in relation to the other identity descriptors as well as the role of marriage in their voting patterns, all in an effort to more effectively determine if a gendered argument is an advantageous one–or not. Each identity will be further understood in relation to a common phrase used amongst white evangelical women, “Daughter of the King,” on the grounds that it serves as a valuable metaphor through which to analyze the complex identities of the white evangelical woman who voted for Trump.