Politik i amerikansk evangelikalism och svensk frikyrklighet

Abstract

Populist trumpism or progressive liberalism?

Evangelical politics in the USA and Sweden Evangelicals in the United States and Sweden are similar in terms of theology and spirituality, but differ widely in political preferences. US evangelicals have supported Donald J. Trump while Swedish evangelicals have rejected the right-wing populism of the Sweden Democrats.

This article explains the development among US evangelics by comparing them to their Swedish counterparts. In the 19th century, Swedish evangelicals associated themselves with the Liberal party, and cooperated with the Social Democrats, in a struggle for democracy against the conservative establishment. In the United States, no such alliance took place. Instead the movement was shaped by the idea that the state is an obstacle to freedom, the anti-socialist propaganda of the Cold war and eventually the culture wars. This moved evanglical voters deep into the Republican ranks.

Three factors have shaped the development of these movements: The view of the state, identification as minority or majority, and political alliances and conflicts.