Trump, once Presbyterian, now says he’s a ‘nondenominational Christian’
Washington • In an exclusive interview with Religion News Service, President Donald Trump said in a written statement that he no longer identifies as a Presbyterian and now sees himself as a nondenominational Christian.
“Though I was confirmed at a Presbyterian church as a child, I now consider myself to be a nondenominational Christian,” Trump, who has repeatedly identified as a Presbyterian in the past, said in a written response to RNS.
Saying that his parents “taught me the importance of faith and prayer from a young age,” Trump went on to say that “Melania and I have gotten to visit some amazing churches and meet with great faith leaders from around the world. During the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak, I tuned into several virtual church services and know that millions of Americans did the same.”
The revelation about Trump’s religious identity appeared in an interview that was conducted in writing and covered a variety of faith topics, ranging from the president’s own spiritual life to his plans for the White House office tasked with engaging faith groups.
Questions for the interview, which were first negotiated with the White House press office, were presented to the president by Paula White, a Florida pastor and the head of the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative, according to the White House.
White House staffers said that the answers are attributable to the president.
Despite the unusual context, the result is a rare exchange about religion-related matters with a president who, while allying closely with evangelical Christian leaders, has said relatively little about his own faith.
Asked whether he learned anything spiritually from his experience of contracting COVID-19, Trump responded that he and Melania “felt the prayers of Americans from all across the country — and even around the world” when he was recovering at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
“I said, ‘There were miracles coming down from heaven.’ I meant it,” he wrote. “Melania and I are very thankful to God for looking out for our family and returning us to good health.”
Though the president didn’t directly answer a question about particular spiritual lessons he had learned from his influential evangelical supporters, Trump praised their faith and said Franklin Graham, president and CEO of his father Billy’s evangelistic organization and of the relief organization Samaritan’s Purse, had visited the Oval Office to pray for him earlier this month.
“These amazing people love the U.S.A. and have a genuine desire to work together for the betterment of all Americans,” Trump said. “I appreciate their prayers and am encouraged by their great faith.”
After saying that he considers himself a nondenominational Christian, which came in response to the question, “Do you consider yourself an evangelical Christian?” the president turned the discussion from his personal faith to his admiration for his evangelical advisers' willingness to reopen their churches in the face of the pandemic. They “are passionate about America’s traditional values and want our churches to be open,” he said.
“Thankfully, many great churches are now back open and meeting in person,” he wrote, seemingly ignoring that multiple COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred at houses of worship, including a recent “superspreader” event that took place this month at a church in Maine.
The remainder of the interview revolved around policy questions that impact religion.
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Source-
Trump, once Presbyterian, now says he’s a ‘nondenominational Christian’
Washington • In an exclusive interview with Religion News Service, President Donald Trump said in a written statement that he no longer identifies as a Presbyterian and now sees himself as a nondenominational Christian.
“Though I was confirmed at a Presbyterian church as a child, I now consider myself to be a nondenominational Christian,” Trump, who has repeatedly identified as a Presbyterian in the past, said in a written response to RNS.
Saying that his parents “taught me the importance of faith and prayer from a young age,” Trump went on to say that “Melania and I have gotten to visit some amazing churches and meet with great faith leaders from around the world. During the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak, I tuned into several virtual church services and know that millions of Americans did the same.”
The revelation about Trump’s religious identity appeared in an interview that was conducted in writing and covered a variety of faith topics, ranging from the president’s own spiritual life to his plans for the White House office tasked with engaging faith groups.
Questions for the interview, which were first negotiated with the White House press office, were presented to the president by Paula White, a Florida pastor and the head of the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative, according to the White House.
White House staffers said that the answers are attributable to the president.
Despite the unusual context, the result is a rare exchange about religion-related matters with a president who, while allying closely with evangelical Christian leaders, has said relatively little about his own faith.
Asked whether he learned anything spiritually from his experience of contracting COVID-19, Trump responded that he and Melania “felt the prayers of Americans from all across the country — and even around the world” when he was recovering at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
“I said, ‘There were miracles coming down from heaven.’ I meant it,” he wrote. “Melania and I are very thankful to God for looking out for our family and returning us to good health.”
Though the president didn’t directly answer a question about particular spiritual lessons he had learned from his influential evangelical supporters, Trump praised their faith and said Franklin Graham, president and CEO of his father Billy’s evangelistic organization and of the relief organization Samaritan’s Purse, had visited the Oval Office to pray for him earlier this month.
“These amazing people love the U.S.A. and have a genuine desire to work together for the betterment of all Americans,” Trump said. “I appreciate their prayers and am encouraged by their great faith.”
After saying that he considers himself a nondenominational Christian, which came in response to the question, “Do you consider yourself an evangelical Christian?” the president turned the discussion from his personal faith to his admiration for his evangelical advisers' willingness to reopen their churches in the face of the pandemic. They “are passionate about America’s traditional values and want our churches to be open,” he said.
“Thankfully, many great churches are now back open and meeting in person,” he wrote, seemingly ignoring that multiple COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred at houses of worship, including a recent “superspreader” event that took place this month at a church in Maine.
The remainder of the interview revolved around policy questions that impact religion.
Click below to read more
Source-
Trump, once Presbyterian, now says he’s a ‘nondenominational Christian’
