Is MAGA-ism a Religion?

[InChrist]

Perhaps it's just me, but what I know about what makes a religion (and what I know seems unable to unmake it) suggests that the devotion to Donald Trump (not to a party, not to a platform, not to an ideology) constitutes a religion. As I think all personality cults do.

Some observations:

​

All Christians routinely ignore some horrifying stories from the Bible, and yet accept them as part of their devotions.​

All MAGAs routinely ignore many horrifying stories about Trump, yet accept him as the focus of their devotions.​

​

The vast majority of senior Trump supporters were implacably opposed to him at first, ran against him claiming he was so wrong for the party -- and then wound up supporting him, often completely contradicting their previous positions in the process.​

The vast majority of Christ's supporters were originally the Romans and other polytheists of the ancient world. Those who Jesus arose from (Jews) reject him as "divine" even today.​

​

I would just like to say that I think it’s wrong to equate Christians with MAGA’s. Not all conservatives are Christians. I also believe you are incorrect in saying that the majority of Christ followers were originally Romans. On the contrary, the Romans heavily persecuted the first followers of Christ; hunting them down, imprisoning and killing them. Jewish people were the first believers and followers of Jesus Christ.

Having said the above, I do think what we’re seeing now surrounding Trump is a personality cult…

Trumpamania takes control of the Republican Party​

“Last night at the RNC, an unbelievable display of end times events was presented to us, the miraculous resurrection of the anointed one of God, Donald Trump. There is no Republican Party, it has ceased to exist, and it’s been replaced by the personality of a single man who is ‘here on a mission from God’.”

NTEB PROPHECY NEWS PODCAST: Global IT Crash Paralyses Much Of The World As Trumpamania Takes Control Of The Republican Party, What Is Happening?

Global events in America and around the world are intensifying to a degree not seen since 2020 as Trumpamania takes control of the Republican Party Anywhere you look, and everywhere you look, the relentless forward-moving tide of end times events continue to play out before our eyes, and...

www.nowtheendbegins.com

 

[Stevicus]

 

[Viker]

Most relevant song today in American history.

Look in my eyes
What do you see?
The cult of personality
I know your anger, I know your dreams
I've been everything you want to be
Oh, I'm the cult of personality
Like Mussolini and Kennedy
I'm the cult of personality
The cult of personality
The cult of personality
Neon lights, a Nobel prize
When a mirror speaks, the reflection lies
You won't have to follow me
Only you can set me free
I sell the things you need to be
I'm the smiling face on your TV
Oh, I'm the cult of personality
I exploit you, still you love me
I tell you, one and one makes three
Oh, I'm the cult of personality
Like Joseph Stalin and Gandhi
I'm the cult of personality
The cult of personality
The cult of personality
Neon lights, a Nobel prize
When a leader speaks, that leader dies
You won't have to follow me
Only you can set you free
You gave me fortune, you gave me fame
You gave me power in your god's name
I'm every person you need to be
Oh, I'm the cult of personality
I am the cult of, I am the cult of
I am the cult of, I am the cult of
I am the cult of, I am the cult of
I am the cult of, I am the cult of personality

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Most relevant song today in American history.

Look in my eyes
What do you see?
The cult of personality
I know your anger, I know your dreams
I've been everything you want to be
Oh, I'm the cult of personality
Like Mussolini and Kennedy
I'm the cult of personality
The cult of personality
The cult of personality
Neon lights, a Nobel prize
When a mirror speaks, the reflection lies
You won't have to follow me
Only you can set me free
I sell the things you need to be
I'm the smiling face on your TV
Oh, I'm the cult of personality
I exploit you, still you love me
I tell you, one and one makes three
Oh, I'm the cult of personality
Like Joseph Stalin and Gandhi
I'm the cult of personality
The cult of personality
The cult of personality
Neon lights, a Nobel prize
When a leader speaks, that leader dies
You won't have to follow me
Only you can set you free
You gave me fortune, you gave me fame
You gave me power in your god's name
I'm every person you need to be
Oh, I'm the cult of personality
I am the cult of, I am the cult of
I am the cult of, I am the cult of
I am the cult of, I am the cult of
I am the cult of, I am the cult of personality

Except that his personality is so, how do I put it? Icky! I mean it seriously, the just the thought of shaking his hand makes me want to wash.

 

[Viker]

Except that his personality is so, how do I put it? Icky! I mean it seriously, the just the thought of shaking his hand makes me want to wash.

Millions of Americans adore him. Millions adored him long before he ran for president. MAGA is his celebrity fan club and it seems to grow.

Imagine if Elvis or Mr. Rogers had ran for president.

 

[We Never Know]

Millions of Americans adore him. Millions adored him long before he ran for president. MAGA is his celebrity fan club and it seems to grow.

Imagine if Elvis or Mr. Rogers had ran for president.

Yep. The Apprentice show made him quite popular among many.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Millions of Americans adore him. Millions adored him long before he ran for president. MAGA is his celebrity fan club and it seems to grow.

Imagine if Elvis or Mr. Rogers had ran for president.

Millions have adored all sorts of people throughout history we now name with only contempt. Welcome to human nature -- it is often irrational, and it is so for a variety of reasons. The most important of those reasons, by the way, is an inability to keep ourselves actually informed about what is going on around us.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Make America Grotesque Again.
Make America Grim Again.
Make America Glum Again.
Make America Gray Again. (Look that up in a thesaurus and then remember the South's uniform color)

That's pretty much the way America is now.

I can testify at least from my lifetime is that it was better back in the day. Not perfect mind you , but a lot better.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I just thought the above link was interesting.

It was and I think at one time I used to think history is worthless. Boy was I wrong about that!

 

[Viker]

That's pretty much the way America is now.

I can testify at least from my lifetime is that it was better back in the day. Not perfect mind you , but a lot better.

Not from my perspective. I could now get married if I had a significant other. I can't be fired or discriminated, legally, for being me. I have better opportunities than most of my ancestors. If this were the Jim Crow era I would be labeled a negro. I believe America can be made greater. I don't believe in going backwards. Don't ask me to go back. There's no going back. The past is gone.

It's only "worse" for you because you have to share this nation with me on equal terms. That's terrible! That's the "worst" thing to ever happen to conservative America.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Not from my perspective. I could now get married if I had a significant other. I can't be fired or discriminated, legally, for being me. I have better opportunities than most of my ancestors. If this were the Jim Crow era I would be labeled a negro. I believe America can be made greater. I don't believe in going backwards. Don't ask me to go back. There's no going back. The past is gone.

It's only "worse" for you because you have to share this nation with me on equal terms. That's terrible! That's the "worst" thing to ever happen to conservative America.

Maybe that's part of your problem. Simply because you cannot tell by looking at a person and just assume nonchalantly people are that way.

 

[We Never Know]

Not from my perspective. I could now get married if I had a significant other. I can't be fired or discriminated, legally, for being me. I have better opportunities than most of my ancestors. If this were the Jim Crow era I would be labeled a negro. I believe America can be made greater. I don't believe in going backwards. Don't ask me to go back. There's no going back. The past is gone.

It's only "worse" for you because you have to share this nation with me on equal terms. That's terrible! That's the "worst" thing to ever happen to conservative America.

I don't believe their post has anything to do with that.
I think it refers to inflation, the cost of living, the cost of houses, the cost of cars, etc etc.

Since 2010 a $100 has lost almost half of its purchasing power.

$100 in 2010 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $144.08 today,

$100 in 2000 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $182.45 today

$100 in 1990 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $240.38 today

 

[shunyadragon]

That is just nothing but personal assumptions that are trying to be spun into something that can be best described as pseudo fact. As @Kathryn has pointed out that those characteristics do not fall in line with everybody involved in the movement.

I have no problems with making America great again, and I'm also not a Christian, so how do you explain that?

It's nothing more than a political movement born from Trump's original campaign and presidency highlighting America's respect and appeal that it had in the past and a desire to restore that distinction. A pretty noble ideal as I can't think of too many people that doesn't want their country to be the best it can be.

Polite euphemisms do not address the extreme dangerous right wing agenda, and desire for a Christian Theonomy including the popularity of QAnon.

I do not try to explain anyone elses political or religious views. You are the one that has to live with and explain your beliefs.

One thing you got correct is "Make America Great Again" is not meaningful in and of itself. IT is MAGA and QAnon that are the elephants in the room.

 

[shunyadragon]

Sorry but based on the people I know who are MAGAs, and who definitely do not fit that description, I guess we are just going to have to agree to disagree. But I do want to point something out - as long as people like you keep just making assumptions about other groups of people, well that really gets us nowhere.

It is not the individuals that is the issue though they should be aware of the dangerous extremism they are affiliated with. It is the elephants in the room MAGA and QAnon, and the convicted hedonistic despot that leads them.

 

[We Never Know]

Sorry but based on the people I know who are MAGAs, and who definitely do not fit that description, I guess we are just going to have to agree to disagree. But I do want to point something out - as long as people like you keep just making assumptions about other groups of people, well that really gets us nowhere.

Funny thing is the word Christians is being used as an umbrella term to put it off on Christians period. Last I checked Biden is a Christian.

 

[shunyadragon]

Funny thing is the word Christians is being used as an umbrella term to put it off on Christians period. Last I checked Biden is a Christian.

Actually this is an over statement of the problem described concerning MAGA and QAnon. It is most of the fundamentalist Christians I clearly stated in my posts. We can further discuss the polls concerning science and extreme political view like QAnon, and MAGA ideals of domination without representation which dominates the goals of the movement.

 

[shunyadragon]

Funny thing is the word Christians is being used as an umbrella term to put it off on Christians period. Last I checked Biden is a Christian.

Do you understand QAnon and how popular it is in the MAGA movement?

 

[Tomef]

Perhaps it's just me, but what I know about what makes a religion (and what I know seems unable to unmake it) suggests that the devotion to Donald Trump (not to a party, not to a platform, not to an ideology) constitutes a religion. As I think all personality cults do.

Some observations:

​

All Christians routinely ignore some horrifying stories from the Bible, and yet accept them as part of their devotions.​

All MAGAs routinely ignore many horrifying stories about Trump, yet accept him as the focus of their devotions.​

​

The vast majority of senior Trump supporters were implacably opposed to him at first, ran against him claiming he was so wrong for the party -- and then wound up supporting him, often completely contradicting their previous positions in the process.​

The vast majority of Christ's supporters were originally the Romans and other polytheists of the ancient world. Those who Jesus arose from (Jews) reject him as "divine" even today.​

​

After watching a few clips of Cruz, Rubio and some other guy speechifying, I get the whole Trump thing a bit more. I mean, those guys are tedious. They stand there trundling out the same tired lines and their attitude is obvious, they just want to say enough of what they think are the right things to get enough votes so they don’t have to speak to the voters, who they clearly despise, again for a few more years. Now, anyone who has bothered to check out what Trump has said and done over the years knows he doesn’t give a crap about abortion, god or any of the other stuff his followers think is important, but he knows how to make it sound like he does. He absolutely loves standing up there and banging on about all the people he hates, because they reveal him for the shallow, venal wretch he really is, and that’s fine, because his followers hate those people too. It’s a total love fest. They all love getting together and having a massive rant about everything they love (hot dogs, America, flags, tits etc) and everything they hate (people who think). I mean, it’s practically orgasmic. He gives full vent to what people are thinking and feeling in their innermost selves but don’t know how to express. It’s easy to see how addictive that can be. He uses good old American Anglo-Saxon words where those other dry sticks bore everyone with their fancy Latin words. Amazing how you can make people believe you just through choice of words and lots of emotion. That all Trump is interested in is being adored, that he lies continually- these things are totally irrelevant.

 

[Kenny]

So your God really is honesty okay with slavery and orders genocide?

I feel like I’m up against an immovable opinion since it has been used as a standard anti-God sentiment… but here goes. God is not for slavery or genocide any more than we are “for the atomic bomb to kill masses of people ” - but found it necessary to use it.

 

[Kenny]

That's the problem. It's the word of God, and yet it contradicts itself and makes God look like a truly horrifically bad entity, while teaching some terrible morality.

No, that is a perspective and an interpretation used by those who are anti-Bible or anti-religion.