There's nothing wrong with using faith to inform and support personal politics. But there is a tendency by conservative evangelicals to conflate the two.

In advance of a possible indictment of the 45th president, well-known evangelist Franklin Graham tweeted his support of former President Donald Trump. Graham, who has been a vocal fan of the former president in the past, promotes Trump as not only some conservative champion but a moral example who is an innocent victim of coordinated attacks.

While it's true the media and others focus on him without ceasing, Trump is no innocent bystander. His words and general behavior are often outrageous and repugnant. He acts in a manner parents would not want their children to emulate.

Yet people such as Graham and others give him a pass because they foolishly combine Christianity and the GOP into a monolith of thought. This is damaging and dangerous to both.

Graham mentions "negative stories" as if Trump himself has never been an instigator. The evangelist even refers to the 2020 election as "manipulated" by the media and the Left, tacitly approving of Trump's continued lies that brand it a stolen election.

Elsewhere on Twitter, a lawyer named Joseph D. McBride, who represents some involved in the Jan. 6 riot, compared Trump to Jesus Christ: "President Trump will be arrested during Lent—a time of suffering and purification for the followers of Jesus Christ. As Christ was crucified, and then rose again on the 3rd day, so too will @realDonaldTrump."

It hardly needs to be said that Donald Trump is not similar to Jesus Christ. It's a blasphemous comparison, to say the least. Trump's self-inflicted troubles may or may not be worthy of criminal prosecution, but he certainly isn't akin to the innocent Christ, his sacrifice on the cross, and glorious resurrection.

The only reason Graham, McBride, and others glowingly paint Trump as a Christian example is because dislike of the Left has damaged their common sense. Republicans and conservatives can easily combat leftist ideology without resorting to examples full of such obvious falsehoods. That the Left pushes things such as transgenderism, abortion, and socialism doesn't make Trump righteous by default. He is an embarrassment to the standards and principles conservatives hold dear. He should be vaunted as neither a conservative nor a Christian hero.

Conflating faith and personal politics suggests supporting the GOP is, by extension, supporting Christianity. Worst of all, it assumes Republican politicians, such as Trump, are "chosen ones" who either do no wrong or should be given a pass and never criticized or held accountable.

For some reason, Trump elicits a previously unseen level of devotion. The aspects of his administration that can be praised don't absolve him of the damage that he's done. They certainly shouldn't earn him unquestioning religious fervor. The Republican Party should have decoupled from Trump long ago. His influence isn't worth it.

Republicans and conservatives alike should also decouple politics and religion. If faith is central to someone's life, it is sure to brush up against personal political activism. But as continued allegiance to Trump shows, the two are not interchangeable.

Kimberly Ross ( @SouthernKeeks ) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog and a columnist at Arc Digital.