Politics has been turned into a religion for many evangelicals, warns Russell Moore

Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore has said many evangelicals have turned politics into a religion, allowing it to became their identifying factor.

The evangelical leader spoke about what American conservatives have done in the realm of politics as he spoke during the Q&A for the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) 2016 national conference "Onward: Engaging the Culture Without Losing the Gospel" held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tennessee.

Moore lambasted how people used the gospel "to be a tool to accommodate whatever political agenda is useful at the moment."

"Part of what we have to do is to dethrone politics as a religion and as a source of identity while at the same time remaining engaged in our responsibilities as citizens, in communities and neighbors, which includes the political process," said Moore.

He urged Christians to remain faithful to the gospel and to ensure that the message being sent out remains clear.

He said he's heard how politicians repeatedly made the same statements and assurances every election season which could only lead to undesirable results. Moore believed this would only fan people's disillusionment as well as burn people out and turn them into cynics.

The president of ERLC also spoke at the conference the previous day to remind Christians what's more important than who wins this fall's presidential race. He argued that Christians should be mindful and more concerned on how the evangelical church as gospel witness would pan out in the years to come.

"Evangelicals, who have previously said character matters, who this year are saying character doesn't matter that much, are never going to be able to address the issue of character again," said Moore on Friday.

Writer David French, another outspoken critic of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and keynote speaker at the conference, also lamented on how the conservatives turned this presidential race into a "colossal, miserable, disgusting failure."