A Strange Combination of the Secular and the Sacred
In January 2016, then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump made a promise. “I will tell you, Christianity is under tremendous siege, whether we want to talk about it or we don’t want to talk about it,” Trump said. If he were to be elected president, he vowed that “Christianity would have power.”
For decades, the Christian Right has underscored many aspects of conservative politics, existing as a base of support for many Republican politicians and as a driving force behind many cultural issues. In its most extreme form, it exists as a powerful Christian nationalist movement. This movement is defined by an ideology known as Dominionism — the idea that regardless of theology, means or timetable, Christians have a right to exercise control over society’s political and cultural institutions. It is a belief in Christians’ God-given right to power in America.
Dominionism is a trans-denominational ideology. Founded in evangelical circles, it was embraced by Catholics joining Christian nationalist movements in the late 20th century. Today, its political goals are often oversimplified as a position against abortion rights, which has remained the most famous cultural issue among evangelicals and has driven a deep wedge in the Catholic electorate. In reality, Christian political organizations have cultivated “biblically correct” positions on dozens of issues, ranging from public schooling to taxes.
Dominionists frame their pursuit of political control as a defense of religious liberty. They do this by rejecting secularism as a principle of America’s foundation. Instead, they insist that the United States was founded on Judeo-Christian ideals that have been worn away over time. This revisionism has led some scholars to allege that some churches are held together more by political orientation and sociology than by theology.
This is an ongoing project.
Tristen Rouse is a documentary photographer and photo editor born and raised in southwest Missouri. He was also raised in the Southern Baptist Church.
In 2016, he saw many of those he knew in the church begin to support a presidential candidate who dehumanized refugees, bragged about assaulting women and advocated for violence against those who opposed him — but promised to secure Christianity as a powerful force in the United States. In this candidate and in the members of his faith who supported him, Rouse did not recognize the values espoused by Jesus Christ. That year, Rouse left organized Christianity. Today, his relationship with God is simple, but his relationship with Christianity is complex. He believes in the values of Jesus Christ but does not see them in some of His supporters. He does not attend church but carries a Bible that once belonged to his mother. He understands Christianity to be one of the most influential voting blocs in modern conservative politics but does not understand why.
This project is a reconciliation for Rouse as he searches for reason within the relationship between scared beliefs and secular politics.