https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vertical-morality-maga-christians_l_68dc8386e4b0b11989f00fb8
‘Vertical Morality’ Might Describe Why MAGA Christians Seem So Unchristian
This framework reveals why some MAGA-aligned Christians act in ways that contradict Jesus’ teachings.
By Caroline Bologna
Oct 6, 2025, 07:00 AM EDT
Updated Oct 6, 2025
For many Americans, the gap between Christian teachings and MAGA politics is baffling. How can people profess faith in Jesus ― who preached love, mercy and care for the oppressed ― while supporting policies that punish immigrants, demonize LGBTQ people and glorify cruelty?
The key to understanding this apparent contradiction might lie in something called “vertical morality.”
This ethical framework measures righteousness not by goodness to others, but by something more simplistic. Below, Christian advocates and former fundamentalists break down what vertical morality means and how it explains our political landscape today.
What Is Vertical Morality?
“Vertical morality teaches that authority, power and a moral code of right and wrong, or acceptable and unacceptable, come from ‘above’ ― an external superior who designates rules, systems and tenets that must be obeyed by those beneath,” said Tia Levings, a former Christian fundamentalist and author of “A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy.”
In the context of religion, the superior is God. In politics, it might be an authoritarian dictator. In a cult, it would be the controlling leader. Whatever the circumstances, the idea is that behaviors are only right or wrong based on what the figure in power says.
“Vertical morality in Christianity is the idea that our ethics and behaviors have a duty to please God alone. We get our morals from God and we must obey him, furthering the will of God no matter the cost,” said April Ajoy, author of “Star-Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding A True Faith.”
The term has become popular in the social media sphere in recent years, thanks to viral videos from content creator and activist Rachel Klinger Cain. She told HuffPost she started using this terminology in her content a few years ago.
“Vertical morality is just how I describe what’s called ‘divine command theory’ in metaethics,” she said. “I’m a teacher, so I’m always looking for ways to make complicated concepts a little more simple. It’s basically the idea that morality comes from authority above, which is what I was taught when I was raised within conservative Christianity.”
Vertical morality stands in contrast to the concept of horizontal morality, another term Klinger Cain has broken down in her videos.
“Horizontal morality prioritizes the well-being of our neighbors, communities and personal relationships,” Ajoy explained. “We act in ways that cause the least amount of harm to those around us, regardless of beliefs. Someone with vertical morality may help someone in need because they believe that’s what God wants them to do, versus someone with horizontal morality may help that same person for the benefit of the person that needs help.”
Rather than unquestioning obedience and superficial optics, this approach focuses on genuine empathy, compassion and love toward others, recognizing the actual effects our actions have on people.
“I think both are important in the Christian faith, but a lot of people today get hung up on the vertical as a priority and forget about the horizontal altogether,” said Malynda Hale, an advocate and executive director of The New Evangelicals, a nonprofit focused on promoting inclusivity, justice and compassion in Christianity.
Similarly, Ajoy believes that the most Christ-like approach is to hold a position of horizontal authority, because doing so also subscribes to vertical morality.
“In Matthew 25, Jesus describes people who fed and clothed those in need, who welcomed the stranger, who took care of the sick and visited those in prison,” she noted. “He then says, ‘What you did for the least of these, you did for me.’ He equates loving our neighbors (horizontal morality) with loving Christ (vertical morality).”
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Why Vertical Morality Appeals To People — And Why It Can Be Dangerous
This ease of this straightforward absolutism helps explain why vertical morality appeals to so many people.
“It’s comforting to always know what the answer is and where to find it,” Klinger Cain said. “It’s probably nice for your nervous system to not worry about whether you’re doing something right or not.”
In times of cultural change, many people are drawn to simple authoritarian structures due to fear and uncertainty, she added.
“And once you’re primed for authoritarianism in religion, it’s easy to accept it in politics,” Klinger Cain said.
She believes this is why conservative Christians have had a lot of success galvanizing their political base to get on board quickly with things that might seem morally questionable. On the other side of the aisle, she sees more infighting as people try to use logic and empathy to find solutions and come to differing conclusions.
“Vertical morality feels safe in chaotic times, when ‘figuring things out’ or ‘learning from past mistakes’ feels daunting,” Levings said. “It’s also easier to comply with when the bottom-dwelling citizens feel like they have little power or agency to resist an authoritarian system. Sometimes, compliance is a matter of survival, and agreeing with it is a necessary means of getting along and staying safe.”
Hale agreed that vertical morality feels easier and less complicated than actually confronting systemic issues and the complexities of social justice.
“It’s easy to measure your faith by private devotion or rules that you think are in the bible, rather than by how you show up in the world,” she said. “The unfortunate part is that it can blind people to injustice and sometimes cause them to justify harmful behavior. When your focus is on individual righteousness rather than collective responsibility, you don’t learn how to show up for others ― you only care about your own journey.”
As a result, Hale added, you risk fostering a society where people aren’t held accountable for harmful actions and can be cruel and exclusionary, as long as they are “good Christians.” Rather than social responsibility, it’s all about personal salvation.
“There’s a quote I heard often growing up in this world that says, ‘Some Christians are so heavenly-minded that they’re no earthly good.’ And I think that perfectly sums up the risks of holding solely to a vertical morality,” Ajoy said. “Our history is full of instances of Christians causing human suffering because they believed they were obeying God. And God’s will can be manipulated and weaponized for all sorts of harm.”
She pointed to the role of Christianity as justification for slavery and Ku Klux Klan activity, for example.
“We’re seeing vertical morality weaponized today in the Trump administration,” Ajoy said. “If they can convince people that they are ‘of God,’ then it doesn’t matter who they hurt in the process. They say Christian things. They quote scripture. But they are wreaking havoc on the very people Jesus calls us to love and care for. It reminds me of another verse in Matthew 15 that says, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’”
Levings emphasized broader risks of vertical morality, noting that it depends on the benevolence of the power on top and is based on an ancient code that cannot be challenged or questioned. Those who try are shamed and cut off from the group.
“Vertical morality can’t take into consideration modern advancements or needs, evidence of failures, new research and information and human progress in civilization,” she explained. “Those with a vertical structure aren’t inclusive or accepting of other worldviews. Diversity can’t exist because it threatens the high contrast right-wrong rigidity found in fundamentalist authoritarianism.”
But that doesn’t mean there’s no place for any sort of regard for a divine moral authority.
“I think that vertical morality can bring genuine spiritual depth and discipline, but it has to work in tandem with horizontal ethics,” Hale said. “We always say faith without works is dead. Faith without action is incomplete. Personal piety can become performative if it isn’t rooted in love for others.”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vertical-morality-maga-christians_l_68dc8386e4b0b11989f00fb8
This sounds contrived, though by all means continue working as you see fit with those who don't give much tick to old age patriarchs. Busying about in science, it hangs on the assumptions. In similar way, the one has a problem when the orthopraxy can't deal alongside with humanities also. Thus, science is authoritative before the humanities, as faith precedes morals.
@mike69 saidIt's possible the alert had to do with copy-pasting copyrighted material in full, instead of providing an excerpt and a link to the original content-provider.
A very civil debate alerted as soon as was put up by sue and friends with no time to watch. What a sad person, people that can’t handle hearing anything against the hive mind. No winners in it just four people calmly discussing????????
@mike69 saidThe alert had to do with personal attacks made by you against me.
A very civil debate alerted as soon as was put up by sue and friends with no time to watch. What a sad person, people that can’t handle hearing anything against the hive mind. No winners in it just four people calmly discussing????????
@Arkturos saidIn your case, out of your pie-hole in no meaningful order.
I'm sure you know what the Buddhists would say about that. 😉
But what did you expect from me? Some kind of phrase that would make better sense?
Do you even know where words come from?