Why some evangelicals will support Roy Moore — no matter what
Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Roy Moore held a press conference on Thursday. Reporters were warned not to ask questions about allegations of sexual misconduct piling up around the former judge and prosecutor.
Seven women have made detailed claims about Moore preying on them when they were teenagers.
The event was organized by Faith2Action, a faith-based conservative group, and their founder Janet Folger Porter was at the podium as Moore edged away.
In a parting shot to the press she said, "I'm glad you got more church than you probably had in the last 10 years."
Church voters like Roy Moore. With the election less than a month away, evangelicals favour him by a wide margin. In a poll taken earlier this week, 73% of white evangelicals in Alabama are still willing to back Moore.
Evangelicals, testosterone and masculinity
Kristin Du Mez, history professor at Calvin College in Michigan, has been writing about the intersection of religion and politics in America, but Du Mez explores a third factor: masculinity.
In the literature on evangelical masculinity, men write a lot about testosterone and they say it's God's gift to men.- Kristin Du Mez, Professor of History, Calvin College
She says it helps explain why the allegations against Moore may actually bolster his favour with evangelicals.
"There is this view of masculinity that really embraces aggression, that celebrates testosterone. And in the literature on evangelical masculinity, men write a lot about testosterone and they say it's God's gift to men. It makes them strong, it makes them powerful."
"It also makes them dangerous. And so, if [Moore] overstepped his bounds, if he didn't show the proper restraint, it's kind of a first forgivable sin, in a sense, it was too much of a good thing maybe."
Du Mez says women making accusations against a powerful man may not be credible to evangelicals.
"I think that among some evangelicals there is a greater tendency to blame victims because they have such an ideal of female purity."
Relieved of any blame for misconduct, Du Mez says evangelicals see Moore's relations as innocuous.
"There's an assumption that if a woman was involved in something like that she should share some of that blame or maybe all of the blame. So there is a tendency towards victim blaming in this community and a commitment to patriarchy which suggests that if Roy Moore was 'in love' with these girls, if he would be willing to take on the role of provider/ protector as they define provision or protection, then that's not necessarily an unhealthy relationship."
A man of faith veers into hypocrisy
Moore has positioned himself as a theocratic politician. He's railed against secularism and as a judge cited divine law over the constitution. His willingness to blur the lines that separate church and state twice resulted in his removal from the bench.
I think many evangelicals are deeply concerned, especially those evangelicals who are in the 19 or 20 percent who didn't vote for Donald Trump.- Kristin Du Mez, Professor of History, Calvin College
Du Mez says for evangelicals in Alabama, those lines are not so clear.
"It's really hard when you look at American evangelicals at this point to separate out what is about their faith, their religious belief system, and what is about politics."
Moore's determination to rule from the bench as a man of faith made him famous. Now, accused of sins and criminal sexual assault, he's a symbol of the hypocrisy of the evangelical movement.
Du Mez says evangelicals can elide Moore's alleged sins because of his political defense of the values of the Christian right.
Du Mez believes these political issues are far more important to evangelicals than Moore's moral failings.
"There's the issue of abortion. Defense of religious freedom. The defense of the American nation."
But Moore's candidacy is dividing the Republican Party. Could it also fracture the faith community?
Du Mez says some evangelicals are wary of their community's support for Moore.
Evangelicals have a real sense ... of being embattled.- Kristin Du Mez, Professor of History, Calvin College
"I think many evangelicals are deeply concerned, especially those evangelicals who are in the 19 or 20 percent who didn't vote for Donald Trump."
Ultimately though, for the majority, standing up for Moore is an act of faith in itself, reinforcing their world against a secular incursion.
"Evangelicals have a real sense, again, of being embattled and that they understand that sometimes they will take unpopular countercultural stances. And they actually see that as a truer witness to their faith than if they kind of made nice with secular culture or the voices of their critics."
Kirsten Du Mez's forthcoming book is called Onward Christian Warriors: Evangelical Masculinity and the Rise of Donald Trump.
To hear the full interview with Kirsten Du Mez, download our podcast or click the 'Listen' button at the top of this page.