INTERVIEW
Trump's mobilizing his "prayer warriors": Religion scholar on what MAGA means by "spiritual warfare"

Professor André Gagné explains that MAGA's "adoption of aggressive spiritual warfare language" is a warning sign

By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA

Senior Writer
PUBLISHED JANUARY 31, 2024

Audience members cheer as Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally on January 05, 2024 in Mason City, Iowa.

 (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Donald Trump may control the Republican Party — but his power is not 100 percent absolute.

As shown in New Hampshire and Iowa – and throughout most of his time in public life – the ex-president is unpopular among “traditional Republicans” and many right-leaning independents. Public opinion and other data show that Trump’s popularity among those outside of the MAGAverse will likely continue to decrease in the months before the election in November.

But Trump and his neofascist MAGA movement have grown in popularity with one group: the Christian right. These White Christian Supremacists are among Trump’s most loyal group of voters and increasingly the base of power not just for him and his MAGA movement, but the Republican Party and American right-wing as a whole.

"Trump continues to enjoy unwavering support from a faction of Christian voters characterized by their adherence to spiritual warfare, dominion, modern-day prophecy, and conspiratorial ideas."

Democrats, centrists, mainstream liberals and progressives (and “the left” more broadly) are quick to mock, dismiss, and make fun of the Christian right and their plans to end multiracial pluralistic democracy by labeling it as “just” the “culture wars" and some type of sideshow distraction. In reality, today’s Christian right is a very real and very well-funded and highly organized institutional movement to end real democracy and create a White Christian theocracy in America and then around the world.

Their weapons to accomplish such a revolutionary project includes such things as “spiritual warfare” and “prayer warriors” who are fighting an existential battle between “good” (Republicans, "conservatives", Donald Trump and the Christian right) and "evil" (Democrats, “liberals”, “secularists” and those who do not believe in White Christian Supremacy). The Christian right (the Christofascists) also increasingly support the use of violence to advance their goals as seen on Jan. 6 of creating a White Christian authoritarian regime.

In an attempt to better understand the relationship between the Christian right, Trumpism and the larger American neofascist movement, I recently spoke with André Gagné. He is Professor and Chair of Theological Studies at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and author of "American Evangelicals for Trump: Dominion, Spiritual Warfare, and the End Times."

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Gagné explains the role of “prayer warriors” and “spiritual warfare” and “the Seven Mountains Mandate” in the imagination and mythology of the Christian right and how they understand power, politics and society. He also reflects on the role of White Christian nationalists and Christofascists in the horrible events of Jan. 6 and the larger coup attempt, and why it has not been more widely discussed by the American news media and political class.

Gagné warns that Donald Trump is viewed by many members of the Christian right as being a type of blessed and prophetic figure in their hopes and dreams of an End Times Armageddon and final battle that will then usher in “god’s kingdom” on Earth.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length:

How are you feeling given the country’s democracy crisis and other great problems?

In my view, the current era is fraught with peril, particularly with the looming prospect of a Trump re-election in 2024 posing a threat to democracy in the U.S. Trump's past actions offer unmistakable insights into his intentions. His eagerness to pardon individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol attack underscores a concerning disregard for the rule of law. Furthermore, his proactive pursuit of those who oppose him, whether politically or within the judiciary, is indicative of a vengeful disposition highlighted by his political slogan centered on "retribution." This vindictive nature, coupled with his apparent belief in being beyond legal constraints, undermines the foundations of democracy.

Furthermore, the reverberations of Trump's 2016 election have been globally felt, leading to severe crises in numerous democracies. While the causes may be multifaceted, Trump's presidency has substantially catalyzed these challenges. Consequently, we must stay vigilant and proactively implement measures to avert any additional harm to the foundations of democracy.

Given the anniversary of Jan. 6 and the continuing plot against democracy by Trump and his forces – which includes “White Christians,” to use scholar Anthea Butler’s term – what do you better understand now about that horrible day?

During Trump's presidential tenure, a discernible trend emerged among his staunch supporters, marked by an embrace of ideas centered around spiritual warfare. Notably, a significant portion of this demographic subscribed to Trump's unsubstantiated claim, commonly referred to as the “Big Lie,” alleging the theft of the election. This belief, perpetuated and endorsed by many, laid the groundwork for a narrative where divine intervention was intricately woven into political events.

The fusion of spiritual warfare rhetoric and prophetic declarations predicting an imminent second American Civil War added a distinctive dimension to this ideological landscape. This amalgamation fostered a climate where fervent adherents felt compelled to resist the certification of the election results on January 6, driven by an unwavering conviction that Trump's defeat was inconceivable. The core tenet of their belief rested on the notion that Trump was divinely chosen, a sentiment fortified by many Neocharismatic-Pentecostal (NCP) prophets foretelling a second term for the former president.

The credibility bestowed upon these prophets made it relatively straightforward for Trump's supporters to embrace the “Big Lie” wholeheartedly. The inherent trust in the prophetic messages rendered the idea of Trump's defeat incompatible with their worldview. Consequently, the incessant amplification of spiritual warfare rhetoric, coupled with the demonization of political adversaries, created a climate where certain Christians, swayed by the convictions of these spiritual warfare advocates, found themselves entangled in a plot to subvert the democratic process in the United States. The convergence of fervent beliefs and political machinations underscored the profound impact of these ideologies on the unfolding events surrounding the certification of the election results.

Why has there still been such little sustained discussion by the mainstream news media and responsible political class – and I would even include the Jan. 6 hearings – about the role of Christian nationalists in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and larger coup plot?

In the aftermath of the Jan 6 hearings, there has been a concerning lack of coverage and political discussion about the role of White evangelicals in the events that unfolded. The reason behind this inadequacy is the highly privileged position that Christianity enjoys in the U.S. A significant portion of Americans, in one way or another, identify themselves as Christian, and many are part of the political class.

The reluctance to hold accountable some of the influential Christian leaders who stoked the fires of spiritual warfare and promoted the “Big Lie” has resulted in the insufficient reporting of the events that took place on Jan 6. This issue calls for a more critical and inclusive approach to reporting and political discussions that can help bring more transparency and accountability to the political system.

For too long these very dangerous forces have been treated as some type of curiosity or joke by those outside of that world and the larger “conservative” movement.

Many people do not take some of the more exotic beliefs and practices of certain Christians seriously because they seem strange. For instance, ideas about demons and the type of spiritual warfare prayers made in public seem ridiculous to many people as they don't resonate with the way we generally perceive the world.

The concept of spiritual warfare has always been a part of Christianity. It refers to the battle that Christians face against the forces of good and evil in their lives. Unlike the physical battlefields, this battle is mainly internal, against sinful attitudes and actions. It involves the idea of supernatural invisible evil forces, known as demons, who seek to inspire evil attitudes or actions. In early Christianity, spiritual warfare meant one was to resist the Devil by engaging in forms of ascetic behavior, mastering fleshly desires, and cultivating Christian virtues like humility, self-control, and love of enemies.

However, some Trump-loving charismatic supporters engage in imprecatory prayers for the downfall of their political enemies. Many of these leaders prefer to uncharitably highlight the shortcomings of their political adversaries and discredit them. Didn’t Jesus say to pray for your enemies, not against them? Therefore, these spiritual warfare prayers that serve as a way to demonize political adversaries seem contrary to the spirit of Christianity.

What is the role of “demons” and “Satan” and the supernatural and other fantastical forces in the thinking and belief system of the Christian right? For them, what does it mean to be a “prayer warrior” and to engage in “spiritual warfare”?

The brand of spiritual warfare to which many of these NCP Trump-supporting leaders adhere was popularized by C. Peter Wagner, a missiologist and professor of Church Growth who passed away in 2016.

Wagner promoted the idea that demonic forces were responsible for conflicts between people, daily life problems, political tensions in the world, etc. He devised a framework to describe what he believed to be demonic activity in society. According to Wagner, spiritual warfare is evidently present at three distinct levels of engagement. The first level, termed “ground-level spiritual warfare,” involves practices like exorcism and the empowerment of select individuals to expel demons. Wagner then introduced a second tier, labeled “occult-level spiritual warfare,” wherein he identified what he believed to be demonic influences in occult practices, including New Age rituals, yoga, sorcery, satanism, and shamanism. The third tier, conceptualized by Wagner, is known as “strategic-level spiritual warfare.” This level describes the battle against a hierarchy of high-ranking demonic spirits appointed by Satan, which are thought to exert control over nations, regions, cities, tribes, groups of people, neighborhoods, and influential networks worldwide. Among many Neocharismatic-Pentecostals (NCPs), these entities are referred to as “territorial spirits,” acting as chief demons overseeing the activities of lower-ranking demons in their designated territory with the aim of thwarting God's will.

According to those who embrace this brand of spiritual warfare, malevolent spirits are believed to wield a substantial influence over a nation's political, social, and cultural spheres. These demonic forces are thought to exert a potent sway over the inhabitants of their designated territories, impeding the advancement of God's Kingdom. Practitioners of spiritual warfare contend that entire countries, regions, cities, and even political parties can be subjected to a process termed “demonization.” The practice of “territorial exorcisms” frequently involves the application of spiritual warfare prayers.

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Theological ideas can be powerful tools for understanding the world around us. However, we must be careful not to let it lead to the demonization of people, cultures, and political communities. Unfortunately, this can happen when some NCP Trump-supporting leaders engage in spiritual warfare against perceived demonic forces. In the process of translating spiritual entities into tangible entities, non-believers, and individuals from different political or cultural backgrounds, such as Democrats, Muslims or those identifying as LGBTQ+, become assimilated into evil spirits. It underscores the importance of scrutinizing spiritual beliefs critically, as uncritical acceptance can transform these beliefs into a weapon against certain groups of people.

What of the End Times and its influence on how the Christian right views their role in American society?

The discourse around the "End Times" or eschatology can be quite varied among evangelical supporters of Trump. There are multiple scenarios that fall under the "End Times" category, and this can be confusing for those who are unfamiliar with the underlying theological language. In my book, I have dedicated an entire chapter to explaining some of the main eschatological ideas that are popular among Trump’s evangelical supporters. For example, some people still hold on to an interpretative framework known as dispensationalism, which includes the popular concept of the “Rapture.” According to this belief, Jesus will come back on the clouds and take all true Christians to heaven (hence the term “Rapture”), while God will punish those who refused to repent by sending judgment on Earth. On the other hand, some people, like the late C. Peter Wagner, the key leader of the New Apostolic Reformation, believe in another idea called “Victorious Eschatology.” According to this belief, the Church (i.e., Christians) will rise in power, unity, and glory before the return of Christ on Earth. Victorious Eschatology is about the visible expansion of God's Kingdom on Earth through the actions of Christians.

For Wagner, this sort of eschatological outlook “fits Dominion Theology like a glove.” A good definition of dominionism is one by Frederick Clarkson, senior researcher at Political Research Associates. Dominionism “is the theocratic idea that Christians are called by God to exercise dominion over every aspect of society by taking control of political and cultural institutions.” For me, evangelical Trump supporters hold to “dominion” as their political theology of power. Now for Christians to exercise “dominion,” they need to be mobilized to action. This is the purpose of the “7 Mountain Mandate,” a marketing strategy popularized (but not invented) by Lance Wallnau, a Pentecostal Christian businessman, regarded as a prophet, an apostle, and a teacher, to mobilize Christians into action and occupy top roles in the spheres (or mountains) of government, education, business, family, arts & entertainment, media, and religion. Dominion will be implemented, when “kingdom-minded” Christians are positioned at the head of these cultural mountains.

Now, spiritual warfare is another key component to “dominion” and the “7 Mountain Mandate.” In order to “occupy,” one needs to neutralize and displace “the enemy.” Practitioners of spiritual warfare are in the business of removing the obstacles to “dominion.” What exactly are these obstacles? They are primarily understood as demonic forces seeking to hinder God’s Kingdom through various means, such as politics. This potentially leads to the demonization of political opponents, individuals and social groups seen as obstacles to “dominion.”

Many among the Christian right believe that Trump was “chosen by god”. Trump is now using that narrative to promote himself as some type of messiah and Chosen One who exists outside of human laws and the Constitution. How can someone like Donald Trump, who is clearly not a Christian role model, be “chosen by god”? How do these White Christians and others who believe in such absurdities make sense of Trump, the man and symbol?

Wallnau emerged as an early proponent of the notion that Donald Trump was divinely chosen to lead the United States. He drew a comparison between Trump and Cyrus the Great, the King of Persia. Six months prior to the election, Wallnau forecasted Trump's triumph, attributing his conviction that God had disclosed to him Trump's role as a "wrecking ball" against the prevailing spirit of “political correctness” in America. Wallnau asserted that God had revealed to him a connection between the biblical passage Isaiah 45 and Donald Trump’s providential role as the 45th President of the United States. Isaiah 45, found in the Hebrew Bible, narrates the mission of King Cyrus of Persia, portrayed as a savior (a messiah) of the Jewish people. Wallnau connected the rise of Cyrus, a pagan king, to that of Trump's ascension to leadership. Trump would be a modern-day Cyrus figure on a mission to safeguard the American people and rejuvenate the nation to its past grandeur.

According to this way of thinking, there is no need for Trump to be an upstanding Christian, since God chose in the past sinful individuals to do his bidding. One other example is that of famous Christian preacher, Franklin Graham, who argued that God could use Trump like he used King David. Graham's rationale concerning Trump included references to biblical figures to highlight the concept that even revered individuals in Scripture had their flaws and sins. For instance, King David's adultery with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah, as narrated in 2 Samuel 11–12. Despite these transgressions, God forgave David's sins (2 Samuel 12:13), and there are biblical passages that present David as “a man after (God's) own heart” (1 Samuel 13:13–14; 1 Kings 14:8; Acts 13:22). The problem with this example is that David repented from his sins; what can be said of Trump?

In any case, Trump continues to enjoy unwavering support from a faction of Christian voters characterized by their adherence to spiritual warfare, dominion, modern-day prophecy, and conspiratorial ideas. One man and his supporters have been undermining the very foundations of American democracy. Has the U.S. reached a point of no return? The next election will determine if whether or not American democracy will survive the pressure of their aggression.

What is “the rod of iron” in relation to spiritual warfare? How do spiritual warfare practitioners use this biblical imagery in the context of politics?

One recent example of the use of this biblical imagery and its use in spiritual warfare was seen following Trump’s defeat in the 2020 elections. Most are familiar with Paula White-Cain, Trump’s spiritual advisor. After the election, she organized prayer gatherings, hoping God would overturn the election. During these meetings, imprecatory prayers were made against the enemies of God, a reference to Trump's political adversaries. During one of the meetings, prayers were directed at God asking that enemies be crushed with a “rod of iron.” The “rod of iron” is a means of divine judgment. In biblical terms, the "rod of iron" is a symbol of violence and force to subjugate God’s enemies. The biblical imagery is used in the context of a theocratic rule, where it is believed that one day Jesus and his followers will rule over nations with a "rod of iron" (see Revelation 2:26-27; 12:5; 19:15). The use of biblical language in the aftermath of Trump's defeat is alarming, as it implied a refusal to accept Biden's victory.

What will it mean for those not deemed to be "the right type of Christians" and other non-believers, never mind Black and brown folks, the LGBTQ community and marginalized people more broadly, if Trump wins and the Christofascists are fully empowered under his dictatorship?

Those who adhere to this political theology of power are often vague when pressed about this question. They attempt to conceal the fact that the notion of "dominion" is centered around Christian dominance. Certain leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation which I discuss in my book try duplicitously to exchange the language of “dominion” for that of “influence.” For instance, they try to present the “Seven Mountain Mandate” as a strategy for “influence,” intended to find solutions to contemporary social problems. Any "dominion" they claim to have is supposedly a benevolent one, where the "light" of Christianity overcomes the "darkness." They even argue that people will rejoice when Christians exercise dominion!

But there are people (Christians and non-Christians) who do not share the values and vision of New Apostolic Reformation leaders. Despite their claims of simply wanting to “influence” culture, their societal project differs significantly from the values of equality, pluralism, and tolerance typical of liberal and democratic societies. Their adoption of aggressive spiritual warfare language and vilification of political opponents is concerning. This strongly suggests that those who do not support their vision of a Christian-dominated America may be at risk.


Chauncey DeVega is a senior politics writer for Salon. His essays can also be found at Chaunceydevega.com. He also hosts a weekly podcast, The Chauncey DeVega Show. Chauncey can be followed on Twitter and Facebook.