A group of evangelical leaders have slammed Donald Trump's campaign as "morally unacceptable" for Christians.
They launched "A Declaration by American Evangelicals Concerning Donald Trump" petition in an effort to persuade others to join them. The multicultural collection of leaders include Jim Wallis of Sojourners magazine, Soong-Chan Rah from North Park Theological Seminary Chigago, Barbara Williams Skinner of the Skinner Leadership Institute and Gary Vanderpol of Denver Seminary.
"We believe that racism strikes at the heart of the gospel," the leaders said in the online petition. "We believe that racial justice and reconciliation is at the core of the message of Jesus.
"Because we believe that racial bigotry has been a cornerstone of this campaign, it is a foundational matter of the gospel for us in this election, and not just another issue.
"We cannot ignore this bigotry, set it aside, just focus on other issues," the leaders added. "No matter what other issues we also care about, we have to make it publicly clear that Mr Trump's racial and religious bigotry and treatment of women is morally unacceptable to us as evangelical Christians."
The declaration said the election in November was "not a usual election" and argued "our Christian discipleship is at stake in the ways we respond".
The group said they were "Americans of African and European descent, Latinos, Asian American, and Native Americans" and attacked the "narrow labels of our community" that perpetuate stereotypes about evangelicals.
"We are women and men, as well as younger and older evangelical Christians," they said. "We come from a wide range of denominations, churches, and political orientations."
