Trons retorik och heliga narrativ : En religionsvetenskaplig studie av evangelikala tidningars rapportering om Donald Trump och politik mellan november 2024 och februari 2025

Sammanfattning

This qualitative study examines how four prominent evangelical news outlets in the United States– Christianity Today, Charisma, World, and The Christian Post – reported on politics and Donald Trump during the period from November 2024 to February 2025. The study investigates how their reporting differs and why, what rhetorical strategies are used and how ideological and theological standpoints are expressed. Using framing theory and a rhetorical analysis, the study examines how evangelical media frame the image of Trump and his opponents and how key political issues such as abortion, LGBTQIA+ rights, immigration, and the Israel-Gaza conflict are presented. The result shows a clear divergence among the outlets and how they choose to portray these different issues. The study also highlights a tension within evangelical media between religious belief and intellectual rigor, where emotional conviction often overrides empirical scrutiny. The thesis concludes that evangelical media play a significant part in the U.S. in shaping political discourse by merging faith and ideology, ultimately shaping readers’ perceptions of identity, reality and their understanding of contemporary social and political life.