Fair enough.
Then I stand by the rest of my post and would add that his "relationship with religion" is what is helping bring independents and moderates over to the conservative movement and helping take back the culture war. It is shifting the focus off religion causing the culture war, and that perhaps it is actually the left causing it. Regardless, he is shifting the focus on to actual policy, how it impacts our society and kids, regardless of religion, where it always should be. And that wanting traditional, American, family values is not being "religious right", it is being American. Hell, a lot, if not the majority of religious people are not even political.
Take Miami-dade for exmple where Hispanics, many of who are religious, but more socially liberal and tended to vote democrat, or didn't vote at all. They pushed him to win FL easy in 2020 and now even the Miami School board is red, that is all on Trump. People may try to give Desantis credit, but these same people overwhelmingly support Trump. I feel a lot of "nones" are similar socially and now finding themselves politically aligned with these types of Hispanics in Miami-dade over the last few years.
That being said, I think the abortion issue was too toxic in 2022, especially states pushing 6 weeks, lindsay graham pushing federal abortion law right before the election without much discussion, etc. But Trump has recently floated in some interviews and even a couple rallies a 15 week, with exceptions message that even hasn't lost him any support of the religious right, and actually a lot of non-religious people are OK with. I do think Trump can be the one to bridge this issue.
As a tangent, for devote religious people supporting Trump, despite not coming off as the most devote person, I would say Trump's platform, even much more so than someone like George Bush, reflects their values and appeals to them, and how Trump speaks and fights for them. Someone who is devote is able to see someone who may not be devote or even religious at all be a tool for god to work. I think that is why religious voters who may not have voted before, even for Bush, are now starting to come out to vote.
That is why Trump for 74 million in 2020 and will get 85 million in 2024
Growing up, I never even contemplated religion, but by my early 20's I would have considered myself agnostic, believing in some sort of karma-like force, but would have considered myself liberal, though never political. As you say, having kids did make me start becoming progressively more conservative in my personal values, and then seeing the
#BLM shit, and since then seeing the stuff in schools, etc, has only reinforced that and becoming political. Now, as I am exposed to more conservative voices, many of who bring up religion, starting to wish my parents were religious and made me go to church, that may have been a good thing.
www.pewresearch.org
