The alienating rise of Trump’s unholy alliance

This is the Weekend Edition of Bloomberg Opinion Today, a roundup of the most popular stories Bloomberg Opinion publishes each week based on [Bloomberg]( This is the Weekend Edition of Bloomberg Opinion Today, a roundup of the most popular stories Bloomberg Opinion publishes each week based on web readership. [Trumpism Is Emptying Churches]( — Francis Wilkinson Donald Trump, a 77-year-old [Bible salesman]( from Palm Beach, Florida, has emerged as the nation’s most prominent Christian leader. Trump is running for president as a divinely chosen champion of White Christians, promising to sanctify their grievances, destroy their perceived enemies, bolster their social status, and grant them the power to impose an anti-feminist, anti-LGBTQ, White-centric Christian nationalism from coast to coast. That Trump doesn’t attend church and has obviously never read the book that he hawks for $59.99 seems of interest exclusively to his political opponents. Photographer: Megan Varner/Getty Images What might catch the attention of some evangelical conservatives, however, is that Trump’s ostentatious [embrace]( of White Christian militantism coincides with a precipitous decline in religious affiliation in the US. According to the Public Religion Research Institute, [one-quarter]( of Americans in 2023 said they were religiously unaffiliated. “Unaffiliated” is the only religious category experiencing growth. In a single decade, from 2013 to 2023, the percentage of Americans saying that religion is the most important thing, or among the most important things, in their life plummeted to 53% from 72%. In effect, militant Christian conservatism, now tightly wrapped in the gaudy corruption of Trumpism, has produced a backlash. Read the [whole thing]( for free. [Why India’s South Rejects Modi — And Why It Matters]( — Andy Mukherjee [Yellen Junks 200 Years of Economics to Block China Clean Tech]( — David Fickling [Zimbabwe’s ZiG Currency Is More Glitter Than Gold]( — Lionel Laurent [Fed Faces a Big Risk, But It’s Not the One Many Think]( — Mohamed A. El-Erian [The LSE Losing Giants Like Shell Is a Very Real Threat]( — Javier Blas [Sorry, Home Sellers: The 6% Commission Isn’t Going Anywhere]( — Stephen Mihm [AI’s Advances Will Echo the Internet, Not the Steam Engine]( — Parmy Olson [Elon Musk Picked the Wrong Fight in Brazil]( — JP Spinetto [Angel Reese Is a Black Woman in America. Remember That.]( — Ajhanai Keaton More From Bloomberg Opinion Here’s what we’ve been listening to and watching this week. - Enjoy Matt Levine’s [Money Stuff](? Like [podcasts](, too? Then you’re going to love [Money Stuff: The Podcast](. The first episode is out now at [Apple](, [Spotify]( or wherever you get your podcasts, with new episodes on Fridays. - Nir Kaissar does the math at, uh, Do the Math. [Check it out on X]( or subscribe to Bloomberg Opinion’s [YouTube channel](. - Bee-eating hornets are just the start of the alien invasions. Lara Williams has the [scary scoop](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](