Panel discussion with Maren Freudenberg on the influence of right-wing Christians on Donald Trump

Maren Freudenberg, sociologist of religion at CERES with a focus on US evangelicalism and global Pentecostal-charismatic Christianity, took part in a panel discussion at Frankfurter Haus am Dom on October 8, 2024 on the influence of right-wing Christians on Donald Trump. She shed light on the role of conservative evangelicals and the Christian right in US politics, particularly with regard to the upcoming presidential election, but also from a historical perspective.

Together with the Americanist Johannes Völz (Frankfurt) and the political scientist Christian Lammert (Berlin), and moderated by Lothar Bauerochse (Hessischer Rundfunk), she categorized the constitutional separation of church and state and the simultaneous close interweaving of politics and religion in the USA and discussed the heterogeneous field of conservative evangelicals, right-wing Christians and related groups. Important topics of the upcoming presidential election, including immigration, abortion and family policy, were considered as well as the historical development of social division in the USA over the course of the 20th century and the deep rifts between Republicans and Democrats.

A recording of the evening is available at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyCmQbLadCw

CERES is hosting a panel discussion on the same topic in collaboration with Bahnhof Langendreer in Bochum on 4 November 2024, one day before the presidential election in the USA. Starting at 6 pm, Maren Freudenberg and Martin Radermacher, also a religious studies scholar at CERES, will discuss religion, politics and the “Trump phenomenon” in the USA with interested participants under the moderation of Teresa Unterberg (CERES).

Further information can be found here: https://bahnhof-langendreer.de/god-made-trump