Religion expert lays out 'the juxtaposition of Jimmy Carter' and Donald Trump

31 December 2024

Former United States President Jimmy Carter — who passed away on Sunday, December 29 at the age of 100 — was a devout Christian and follower of Jesus Christ.

Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, who serves as senior director of policy and advocacy at Interfaith Alliance, argues in an op-ed published by MSNBC, "It’d be difficult to find a starker difference in how a president wields religion than the juxtaposition of Jimmy Carter and President-elect Donald Trump."

Additionally, unlike Trump and his right-wing followers, Graves-Fitzsimmons notes, "Carter modeled what it looks like for a Christian to engage in politics while steadfastly guarding against theocracy and Christian nationalism," and as the "most devoutly Christian president in modern American politics," Carter "was also an ardent defender of the separation of church and state."

The Just Faith: Reclaiming Progressive Christianity author writes:

President Carter stood strong in support of healthy boundaries between religion and government as president. He opposed coercing students to pray in public schools. He understood the difference between his duties as president and as parishioner, ending the practice of inviting evangelical pastors, like the Rev. Billy Graham, to have services in the White House. Instead, he worshipped with his family at a Baptist church near the White House.

The late president was vocal about his opposition to "Christians who weaponized the faith to serve their own political interests," Graves-Fitzsimmons adds.

"During the last two decades, these principles [of church-state separation] have been challenged, often successfully, by Christian fundamentalists," the progressive Christian writes notes Carter wrote in 1996. "Under the banner of the Christian Coalition, they have merged with the conservative wing of the Republican Party, becoming an active force in politics and enjoying a series of election successes."

Furthermore, Graves-Fitzsimmons emphasizes, "Carter said he didn’t ask God, 'Let me succeed,' but, 'Let me do the right thing.' Trump suggested that surviving an assassination attempt was evidence God wanted him to be president."

Graves-Fitzsimmons' full op-ed is available at this link.

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