One of the most frustrating things about right wing politics is how intertwined with religion it all is—and how the actions of the most religious often don't align with the actual teachings of Christianity.
If you're like most people, you've probably spent tons of time wondering what the deal is with this dynamic.
A former evangelical Christian on TikTok has gone viral for demystifying the whole thing, explaining how she went from far-right Republican to liberal in recent years, and her story is thought-provoking and enlightening.
TikToker Rihanna Teixera explained in both videos and an interview with BuzzFeed how evangelical Christian circles tend to work, which is basically based entirely on fear.
She told BuzzFeed:
"I was raised to believe that anything that wasn't 'Biblical' was evil... Being raised like this creates a lot of fear of anything or anyone who is not like you."
This means, of course, everything from people of other races to LGBTQ+ people and people of other religions—as well as Democrats.
Teixera added:
"We are also encouraged not to seek out other opinions or worldviews because we can risk being brainwashed and becoming more 'like the world.' I see that now as a form of control and manipulation."
For Teixera, Donald Trump's election in 2016 began to unravel all of this and start poking holes in the ideology.
She explained in a video:
"It started to expose a lot of things to me that I didn't see before."
Racism in particular became a glaring warning sign, especially in 2020 with the murder of George Floyd. Teixera explained that she saw people she'd always loved and respected suddenly hurling horrifying racist invective and in some cases justifying Floyd's murder, and it "really messed with my head."
It also led her to begin investigating Trump's cabinet and inner circle, and when she discovered he'd hired people with ties to far-right white nationalist groups and ideologies, she was even more shocked by her fellow Christians.
"They didn't deny the allegations, they didn't deny the facts that they had these ties, but they said, 'You know, I think that we just really have to trust that God has a plan and that God's going to bring the right people into Trump's life to help lead the country.'"
"Immediately, something clicked, and I thought, they never gave Obama the benefit of the doubt."
In a follow-up video, she said it was the constant excuses for Trump and calling on Christians to have "grace" for his abhorrent views that ultimately opened her eyes.
She had a similar experience with Trump's virulent misogyny. Evangelical Christianity is an intensely patriarchal belief system in the first place, and that surely helped her dismiss Trump's attitude toward women.
But Teixera also said that since Trump was often spoken of as "anointed by God," she simply dismissed it, just like she for so long did with racism, homophobia and all kinds of other bigotry.
She told BuzzFeed that the Evangelicals she grew up around were rarely openly bigoted, but rather that the rhetoric was "subtle" and easy to dismiss—until it wasn't.
Once she'd seen the light on all of this, a process ex-Evangelicals call "deconstruction," she began reading books like Jesus and John Wayne about the long-standing relationship between evangelicalism and the Republican Party.
On social media, people were deeply appreciative of her sharing her experience and bringing more understanding to this issue that is tearing America apart at the seams.
aliwwwify/TikTok
Kay St. Patrick/Tiktok
Ken/Tiktok
Kristin/TikTok
Sweetnezz50/TikTok
Ariel Alston/TikTok
Teixera also shared advice for any Evangelicals who might be questioning all of this like she did.
She told BuzzFeed:
"They also need to start listening to other viewpoints outside of conservative thought leaders. That can be scary for them because, again, they have been conditioned to believe that they will be easily deceived if they seek information outside of the church."
"But they have to trust themselves to be able to learn how to think critically."
Solid advice for all of us.
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
@BillAckman/Twitter