The Bible a Prop for Politics

In June 2020, during nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd, President Donald Trump posed with a Bible outside St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. Police used riot-control tactics to clear protesters from Lafayette Square to prepare for the photo op.

Trump bounced the Bible in his hands for a few moments before holding it up for reporters to photograph. When asked, “Is that your Bible?” President Trump responded, “It’s a Bible.” For many Americans, the scene epitomized the relationship between Scripture and politics: the Bible is a prop, a tool for…