Of all the surprising facets of the current presidential race, there is nothing quite so jarring as the fact so many evangelical Christians are expressing support for Donald Trump and Ted Cruz—two men who don’t exactly embody the tenets of Christian compassion. As columnist David Brooks wrote last week in the New York Times:
The best conservatism balances support for free markets with a Judeo-Christian spirit of charity, compassion and solidarity. Cruz replaces this spirit with Spartan belligerence. He sows bitterness, influences his followers to lose all sense of proportion and teaches them to answer hate with hate.
How do we explain his appeal to this pious group? Newly published research, which compares religious beliefs with deeply held moral values, provides one answer:Â People who believe in an authoritarian God are less likely to endorse such ethical values as empathy and compassion. Furthermore, the study reports belief that the Bible is literally the word of God does not increase support for the moral foundations of fairness and care.