Academic viewpoints

　　This week, university professors and researchers who focus on religion and politics discussed these issues at a Rice University forum in Houston.

　　Diane Winston from the University of Southern California says many Christians have accommodated themselves to Trump.

　　“He supports some of their basic social and political positions,” she said. “He may be immoral, but he has a moral agenda.”

　　She said the biggest split among evangelicals in terms of politics is racial.

　　“According to most polls,” she said, “between 60 and 70 percent of white evangelicals are going to vote for Trump. Most evangelicals of color are going to vote for Clinton.”

　　A recent study by the Brookings Institution shows that moral questions have become less rigid among white evangelicals. In 2011, only 30 percent of them believed personal morality was separate from ethics in public office, whereas the most recent polls show 72 percent believe that.

　　Mainstream culture affects moral views

　　Religious leaders have been pulled along by their congregants, who are reacting to a number of societal changes and economic conditions.

　　Patton Dodd, a researcher from San Antonio, says the news media has sometimes overstated the influence of evangelical preachers.

　　“I don’t think the crowds are following them in lock step,” he said.

　　Both candidates, Clinton and Trump, have been in the public eye for decades, but Trump hosted a reality TV show called "The Apprentice" between 2004 and 2015, when he began his run for the presidency.

　　Dodd said Trump’s celebrity has boosted his popularity with evangelicals despite questions about his personal life.

　　“They don’t just listen to what their pastors say and behave accordingly. They are also interested in pop culture like everyone else is,” Dodd said.

　　How this plays out in the election will not be known until the votes are counted and the analysis of the results begins.