Conservative and Religious: Filipino Evangelicals Go MAGA

The linkages between Filipinos based in the US and those in the Philippines create multiple vectors of influence on the latter. With evidence of Filipino voters in the US becoming more conservative, Filipinos back home will start to view American politics from this ideological perspective. A major source of influence will be the American evangelical churches that have an outsized influence on religiosity in the Philippines.

In a survey just prior to the 2024 US presidential election, Filipino polling firm WR Numero found that 18 per cent of Filipinos in the Philippines preferred Donald Trump, while 14 per cent preferred Kamala Harris. Filipinos in the US, meanwhile, supported Harris, albeit in lower numbers compared to other Asian-American groups.

Filipino admiration of US conservatism has a long history. However, support for Trump — a figure who blurs traditional political categories — may stem from recent shifts in Filipino political attitudes. For example, supporters of the popular former President Rodrigo Duterte may see in him a figure that mirrors their own hero, a tough-talking populist who empowers law enforcement. These supporters have fond memories of a congenial meeting between the two populists in Manila, when Duterte serenaded Trump with karaoke singing. In this regard, Duterte supporters are like the Trump-loving base of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Yet there is a fledgling Make America Great Again (MAGA) support base among Filipinos in America and the Philippines. While the MAGA movement in the US is broad, there is an interesting sub-group linking Filipinos at home and those based in the US: evangelicals. By definition, evangelicals are members of a religious denomination of “born again” Christians who believe, among others, in the supremacy of the Bible and the active propagation of their faith through “witnessing and good works”.

The number of Filipino evangelicals in the Philippines varies depending on how the category is defined, but estimates can range from 7 per cent to 14 per cent. Their influence, however, is outsized relative to their numbers, given their elite membership, funding from American churches, and strong media presence. American-style evangelicalism has become an aspirational lifestyle for many Filipinos in the country.

Influential evangelical churches in the Philippines, such as Victory Church, have deep ties with the US. They are part of the same charismatic and Pentecostal wave that has been sweeping America for over four decades. They share a brand of worship — a “megachurch” concert-style which incorporates some aspects of rock music. Filipino evangelical churches also share some moral and theological views with their American brethren, including the emphasis on sexual purity and concerns about the prosperity gospel. It is, therefore, unsurprising that Filipino evangelicals are conversant with American Christian culture.

Many prominent evangelical celebrities in the Philippines publicly praised right-wing activist Charlie Kirk after his tragic murder. Kirk, however, cannot be divorced from his political platform. Though he was an outspoken evangelical, he was also one of the most prominent and most effective exponents of MAGA conservatism. His organisation, Turning Point USA, was and is at the vanguard of attempts to challenge the dominant liberal culture of US universities. It is also an organisation at the forefront of attempts to fuse evangelical spirituality with Christian-nationalist politics. Comments about Kirk being a “Christian warrior” cannot be disentangled from his identity as a soldier in the American culture wars.

MAGA evangelicalism in the Philippines is fledgling, and it is hard to predict how it will impact Philippine politics.

As this fusion becomes more pronounced, what effect will this have on Filipino evangelicals who take many of their cues from the US?

Filipino evangelical groups have also been involved in the country’s politics. The Jesus is Lord Church and its almost 5 million adherents have participated in electoral politics by fielding candidates for the presidency and the Senate. At present, it has two members who are incumbent senators, while its founder, Eddie Villanueva, is a party-list member of the House of Representatives. These politicians have successfully helped prevent the enactment of social policies such as divorce, marriage equality, and addressing gender-based discrimination.

There is also evidence that Filipino evangelical leaders are internalising US evangelical content wholesale without the significant nuances of the Philippine context. During election season, members of these churches have also started to be politically loyal to candidates who vocally espouse evangelical ideas, regardless of their performance and policy positions.

As the evangelical base in the Philippines grows more politically assertive, it would be unsurprising even for Filipino non-evangelical candidates to court their votes. Together with the more numerous conservative Catholic groups, they can effectively put a stranglehold on progressive reforms and act as a solid base of support for strongman and right-wing populist politics espoused by the Dutertes and the Marcoses.

The Philippines has always idealised America. But it is easy to idealise something from afar. And this is likely the case for Filipino evangelicals increasingly under the spell of MAGA-style politics. For one, unlike Filipinos in the US, Filipino evangelicals in the Philippines do not have to confront MAGA’s overwhelming whiteness and its ties to American nativism and white nationalism. So it becomes easier to abstract a figure like Charlie Kirk from the racially charged politics he participated in.

MAGA evangelicalism in the Philippines is fledgling, and it is hard to predict how it will impact Philippine politics. It could end up being a blip, with MAGA becoming a minor part of Filipino evangelical culture. But what if the grievance-ridden elements of this movement become more central to Philippine politics? What would an American culture war look like when transplanted to the Philippines?

The movement’s trajectory is unclear, but so is populist politics in the Philippines.

2025/340