Name that evangelical, please

“Compassionate conservatism” needed renaming once its transformation into a big government plan ruined the brand.

“Evangelical” also needs renaming, as its broad application by pollsters and marketers have made that term largely meaningless.

Sarah Posner, a deep-dyed critic of evangelicals, showed surprisingly good understanding this week when she critiqued “the ridiculous question exit pollsters ask Republican voters: Are you ‘evangelical/born again’ or ‘not?’ That’s like asking, ‘Are you a Christian, or not?’ Or, more to the point, ‘Are you a God-fearing American, or not?’ The exit polls therefore over-count evangelicals, lumping evangelicals and Trumpvangelicals together.”

“Trumpvangelicals” is a good term for many who politically apply what I call “TOP” belief, after Donald Trump, Joel Osteen, and Norman Vincent Peale. Since good fences sometimes make good neighbors, could you suggest some other new names to describe the various groupings? I’ll start: Calvangelical for the Reformed among us. Your turn: Please comment below or email me at molasky@wng.org.