Politics of prayer: On Iowa's caucus trail, a 'spiritual war' and blessings for candidates

Iowa state Rep. Brad Sherman took the stage at a Cedar Rapids auditorium as supporters of Donald Trump continued to file in, buzzing as they awaited the arrival of the former president.

Sherman began Saturday afternoon's program with a prayer.

"This is not a time for politics as usual, not a time for religion as usual, not a time for prayers as usual," said the Williamsburg Republican, who is also a pastor at Solid Rock Church in Coralville.

He prayed for Israel, which had been attacked by Hamas a day earlier, and said "we're at war in this nation as well" — a "spiritual war," in which the Republican frontrunner for president is on the front lines.

"They've shot their lying arrows at him, Lord, without cause," Sherman said of Trump. "His family and all those who seek good have become targets. … Lord, injustice is hanging over this nation like a dark storm."

Prayers and invocations like Sherman's are not unusual on the presidential campaign trail in Iowa, where Republican politicking intertwines itself with the Christian evangelical leanings shared by many potential caucusgoers.

Some devotions are directed at candidates — calling on God to "release your strategic planning upon President Trump," as a prayer in Ottumwa declared, or asking for attendees to "hear Vivek (Ramaswamy)'s heart," as Kimberly Chapman did at an event for the candidate in West Des Moines.

A few take aim at political opponents: A prayer to kick off a Tim Scott event in August asked the attendees to realize that those on the left "hate you, hate your word, in many cases hate our country."

The prayers, often accompanied by a pledge of allegiance and the national anthem, provide a glimpse into how religious leaders and attendees channel their frustrations with President Joe Biden, their fervor for a candidate or their policy priorities through their faith — at a time when division and unease increasingly define American politics.

"I think there's a high anxiety within people of faith, and it seems to be increased," said Bob Vander Plaats, CEO of conservative Christian advocacy group The Family Leader. "But I would say that it's kind of a broader reflection on the culture as a whole."

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Sherman, who has endorsed Trump, believes both religion and politics "have drifted far away from what we were originally." Moving toward an electoral process fully imbued in faith, he says, is necessary to fight the "spiritual war" he spoke of on stage in Cedar Rapids.

"Few people seem to think about the fact that if demons and demonic spirits exist, then that means angels exist as well," he told the Register in an interview. "They're doing battle in the spirit."

The outcomes of those battles, he says, "often have a big effect on what's happening in the natural" world — including the results of the Iowa caucuses.

War in Ukraine, and now between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East, has lent a new urgency to those invocations. At an event for Ron DeSantis on Oct. 8, the Rev. Jeremy Higgins of Calvary Community Church, who said he had visited Israel 17 times, led a prayer in support of the country's military and civilians.

"Your word tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, so Lord, we do that, but also the nation of Israel as a whole," Higgins said. "And we also want to lift up the men and women in Gaza who aren't a part of these terrorist organizations, and there are so many who live there … who love you, Lord God, and have nothing to do with this."

That uncertainty abroad, combined with a critical primary cycle for the future of the Republican Party and a large chunk of religious voters in Iowa, has prompted some to demand even more direct involvement in the caucus process from parishes and faith leaders.

"I would be really, really glad, and I think some of the candidates, to really encourage more involvement by the faith community," Linn County Republican chair Bernie Hayes told the Register. "I feel that at least in circles that I run in, it's lackadaisical. They run from the word 'political.'"

Presidential hopefuls, courting voters of faith, viewed as 'instruments' of God

In the eyes of many faith leaders, the crowd of presidential hopefuls is more than just politicians vying for support in the first-in-the-nation caucus state — they're "instruments" of faith, given "assignments" and "callings" to lead, and "serve the interests of God."

Chapman, the Iowa lobbyist who serves as an adviser to Ramaswamy's campaign, said she had prayed and attended church alongside the entrepreneur and author. Though Ramaswamy is Hindu, she said, he "welcomes Christian prayer."

"Vivek, when you talk about being an instrument, and God using you as an instrument, that reminds me and my Christian faith of God using us as a vessel, is how we would say that," Chapman said as she introduced the candidate in West Des Moines earlier this month.

Other expressions of faith toward the candidates are more direct, even physical: at a Des Moines church in September, Rep. Jon Dunwell, R-Newton, led a prayer in which a group gathered around DeSantis and laid hands on him.

Many are looking for the next torchbearer for what former President Ronald Reagan called a "spiritual revival," Vander Plaats said, centering faith in the world of conservative politics. (For his part, Vander Plaats has expressed a desire for the GOP to move on from Trump.)

Candidates traveling through Iowa aim to position themselves as the best one to usher in that revival — attending church, shaking hands and courting endorsements from faith leaders, and emphasizing their opposition to abortion.

The former president, who generally speaks little of his own faith, is preceded on stage at rallies by prayer, and leans on his record and previous support among evangelical voters.

But such prayers on the campaign trail shouldn't "have a personal agenda," Vander Plaats said, and should be focused on seeing "God's will be done" by an elected leader.

"Ultimately what you're doing in the act of prayer itself is recognizing that God is God, and you are not," Vander Plaats said, chuckling and adding "that seems to be a problem we have today."

Sherman believes that "God does place assignments, callings" on people, and that includes candidates for elected office. He's not concerned by those who don't believe in blending prayer and politics.

"You can take just the flip side of that and say, well, I'm uncomfortable with people that don't believe in it," he said. "Christianity never forces itself on anyone. I mean, you can't legislate a heart change inside of somebody."

"I will stand for people's right to believe whatever they want to believe, that's freedom," Sherman added. "But I'm not going to be muzzled from telling what I believe."

Katie Akin and William Morris contributed reporting.

Galen Bacharier covers politics for the Register. Reach him at gbacharier@registermedia.com or (573) 219-7440, and follow him on Twitter @galenbacharier.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Prayer and politics go hand in hand on the Iowa Caucus campaign trail