CARMICHAELS, Pa. (AP) — In one of the most closely watched races in one of the hottest states, gubernatorial candidates talk about religion, but in a radically different way.
Republican Doug Mastriano’s crusade has several characteristics of Christian nationalism, fusing Christian and political images, words and rituals and promoting confidence that America has been and will be a Christian nation.
Meanwhile, Democrat Josh Shapiro talks about his Jewish religion in speeches and announcements, and says it inspires him toward public service as he seeks to build a classic Democratic coalition of black clergy and other progressive groups, adding Christians and Jews, and not.
“My religion founds me and calls me to do a public service. I don’t use my religion to make political decisions or to exclude others like my opponent does,” Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s current attorney general, said in an interview.
Mastriano, a state senator, rejected the label “Christian nationalist,” though his political events have a cult feel. It was presented at an event organized by a church near Pittsburgh through a pastor who combined Christian and political imagery: “Position yourself for a wonderful red wave of the ‘blood of Jesus’!
At a crusade event in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, Mastriano stood in front of a church, in front of the backdrop of a crusade sign and a fulfillment cross.
A pastor laid hands on him according to a non-unusual Pentecostal tradition and asked for God’s protection. “We pray that you will give him that courage and strength for what he is about to face,” the pastor told Crosspoint’s Assembly of God. Pray against the darkness and the enemies who oppose it in the non-secular realm. “
Mastriano’s crusade responded to requests for interviews via email. He has consistently ignored requests for comment from The Associated Press and many other media outlets.
At the recent devout event, a crusade staff member told a reporter that Mastriano would not answer questions. Mastriano claimed he “watched the media mock our faith” in his policy of his first victory meeting, which was infused with worship music and biblical quotations. “My crusade has no position for intolerance and bigotry,” he said.
This was questioned by Shapiro and others because Mastriano’s crusade paid $5,000 for what he described in the form of monetary disclosure as “consulting” to Gab, a social networking site popular with white supremacists and anti-Semites. It was in Gab, according to authorities, that a suspect reported his plans for the bloodbath of 11 worshippers in 2018 at the construction of the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. It was the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U. S. history. U. S.
Mastriano led efforts to overturn Pennsylvania’s vote for Joe Biden in 2020. He hired buses to take Pennsylvanians to the rally ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Lifting. According to a Senate Judiciary Committee report, he walked through “barricades and damaged police lines. “”
Both applicants appeal to the devout, ethnically contrasting demographics that have changed every aspect in recent campaigns, such as the 2020 preliminary election, when majorities of white Catholics and a large majority of white evangelical Christians voted Republican, while Democrats leaned heavily on black Christians. , Latino Catholics. Jews, Muslims and other people without religion.
Mastriano “made no effort to soften” his hardline stances toward an electorate in the general election, said John Fea, a professor of history at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and of “Believe Me: The Evangelical Path to Donald Trump. “
Mastriano embraces a “black-and-white, non-secular worldview of war,” Fea said. “Whoever criticizes him is the devil. I don’t mean that metaphorically. In fact, he thinks they are running for the cause of evil. “. . That’s what makes it so dangerous.
Still, some evangelicals “may be disgusted by his (Mastrian) Christian nationalism but can’t believe they vote for a pro-abortion candidate like Shapiro,” Fea said.
He said Shapiro seems to contrast his broader view of devout freedom in a diverse population with Mastriano’s narrower vision. Shapiro criticized Mastriano that “not all religions are created equal. “
A Pew Research Center report released Thursday found that forty-five percent of American adults surveyed and 67 percent of Republican-leaning Americans think America “should be a Christian nation,” though fewer need the federal government to officially declare itself Christian.
Mastriano devotes much of her local speeches to denouncing rising crime, COVID-19 restrictions from the existing Democratic administration, and the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports. He called banning abortion without exception a very sensible priority.
Shapiro said “my workplace is committed to the legal protection of abortion in our Commonwealth,” where it is allowed until the 23rd week of pregnancy.
Each candidate attracts supporters who represent a not unusual percentage of religion’s role.
At Carmichaels Church, Mastriano addressed a small enthusiastic crowd one September morning.
“I like the fact that it encourages [expressing] our devout values and freedoms in the Bill of Rights,” said Steven Grugin of Dunkard Township. Speaking in a church “tells other people that you are very supportive of free speech, freedom of religion,” he said.
The Rev. Marshall Mitchell, senior pastor of Salem Baptist Church in Abington, Pa. , who has known Shapiro for years, said Shapiro “is as comfortable in a black Baptist church as he is in a conservative synagogue, temple or mosque,” Mitchell. said. ” He doesn’t see an unusual humanity, which he believes originates in God. “
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