American Evangelicals Are The New Sadducees

What happens when you blend politics and religion

(By Filippo Vitale/ Formerly attributed to Hendrick de Somer — [1] — Olio su tela, cm. 130 x 158, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52763879)

Judaism in the time of Jesus was dominated by two leading sects: the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Jesus spoke a lot about the Pharisees but said little about the Sadducees, leaving many people in the dark about their beliefs and their fate. The Sadducees emerged during the Second Temple period (200 BCE–70 CE) and were primarily composed of the priestly aristocracy and wealthy elites. They were responsible for the running and control of the great temple in Jerusalem. This gave them significant political and religious influence and forced them to maintain close ties with the ruling powers, including the Romans. The Sadducees accepted only the Torah (Pentateuch) as authoritative and believed in scriptural literacy.

The Sadducees did not believe in an afterlife and were, therefore, heavily invested in material wealth, political power, and appearances. The Sadducees maintained their position in society by cozying up to the local powers, including the foreign Roman government. This put the Sadducees at odds with other Jews, including the Pharisees, who saw them as collaborating with politics over their religious values.

Some of these same patterns can be seen within the American Evangelical movement. Pastors who preach politics from the…