Robert P. Jones
Appearances
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
Hmm. What does this change mean for the political future of the United States?
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
Oh, my gosh. Well, you all, you both have completely blown my mind in this conversation. I really appreciate you coming on and talking with us today. Thank you so much.
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
My guests, Robert P. Jones from the Public Religion Research Institute. Great to be here. And Axios justice and race reporter Russell Contreras. Good to be with you. Have been following this shift for a while. Now, let's be clear. No group is a monolith. And the reasons behind these demographic shifts are nuanced, to say the least.
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
That was president and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute, Robert P. Jones, and Axios justice and race reporter, Russell Contreras. This episode of It's Been a Minute was produced by Barton Girdwood, Alexis Williams. Our editor is Jasmine Romero. Our executive producer is Veralyn Williams. Our VP of programming is Yolanda Sanguini. All right.
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
That's all for this episode of It's Been a Minute from NPR. I'm Brittany Luce. Talk soon.
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
But Robert and Russell have noticed some links between the Republican Party and the emerging evangelical movement.
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
And they have questions about why the evangelical movement has chosen this moment to court its new members.
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
Today, Robert and Russell break down what's at the root of this shift and what it means for our political future. When we talk about Latino evangelicals, what does that group actually look like? They're fairly fluid.
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
You know, that's so interesting because when I think of Latinos in America, I usually think of the Catholic Church. But I read that as of 2022, only 43% of US Hispanic adults identified as Catholic. And that number is down quite a bit from 67% in 2010. And it looks like this turn to evangelism is part of that decline.
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
In the wake of the last election, much was made about the so-called, quote unquote, Latino vote. One of the very important keys to Donald Trump's victory was getting a larger share of votes from Latinos. Historically, Latino voters have leaned blue, but this election saw a major shift, with more Latinos than ever voting for Trump.
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
Now, you used the word charismatic to describe some of these denominations that are attracting a lot of Latino evangelicals. Some listeners might not know that charismatic has its own specific meaning within the Christian church. Can you talk to us about what that means so we can get a greater sense of what y'all are saying?
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
Robert, you were quoted in a piece by Russell, and you said that a big reason why so many Latinos are joining the evangelical church is maybe not Americanization as like the driving force, but like it is some type of outcome. There's Americanization wrapped up in this transition or in this shift. Talk to us about how the church might offer or symbolize Americanization for
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
to new members or people who are going to be joining?
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
Absolutely. I'm from Michigan, and it's very popular across my state, but also popular in the South, but also popular out West.
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
And while this left many pundits puzzled, there's a growing movement that might explain why some Latinos are finding a new home on the right.
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
That sounds so aligned with liberation theology, and it sounds so aligned with a lot of the things that I heard growing up going to a black church, that you're suffering is something that's not in vain. Coming up, some of the tactics these churches are using to court new members.
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
More on that and what it means for our political future, up next. You know, you all discussed two major views of Jesus that you're seeing within the Latino evangelical community. How do these two major views of Jesus shape the politics of Latino evangelicals overall?
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
That service you hear is being led by Pastor Samuel Rodriguez, the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. Pastor Rodriguez is just one of a growing number of church leaders looking to the Latino community to grow his flock.
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. So Obviously, a big part of evangelical Christianity is, you know, going out and telling the good news. But how are these evangelical churches attracting so many new members? Talk to me about those tactics.
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
How do they find this stuff out? You mentioned voter lists, but you can't pick up all that information simply from a voter list. Where are they getting all this information from? Some of this we've willingly given out on social media. We've put it out there. So they'll find you on social media and then just see how many kids you have, where you live.
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
Wait, yeah, no, I was just going to say, I know corporations do it.
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
But churches buy that kind of data on people too? Why not?
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
Jeez. Okay. Okay. Wow. This is so sophisticated. Like this is so sophisticated. You know, I have a question. A big part of the Republican Party's rhetoric in this most recent election was around mass deportation. And, you know, I'm sure we've all seen the various times that Trump has brought up wanting to end birthright citizenship, wanting to basically completely do away with DACA.
It's Been a Minute
How Latinos found Evangelicalism and Trump
Obviously, being a Latino in America is like an extremely diverse group of people. And so I'm wondering, how do Latino evangelicals measure, in some cases, perhaps their own vulnerabilities against the rhetoric that's coming out of some of these churches and the rhetoric that's coming out of the Republican Party.