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A review by kevin_shepherd
White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America by Anthea Butler
5.0
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. -Ephesians 6:5-7
A FEATURE, NOT A BUG
“It was evangelical acceptance of biblically sanctioned racism that motivated believers to separate and sell families during slavery, and to march with the klan. Racist evangelicals shielded cross burners, protected church burners, and participated in lynchings. Racism is a feature, not a bug, of American evangelism (emphasis mine).”
When you read Anthea Butler’s White Evangelical Racism it becomes abundantly clear that bigotry is not just some inconsequential anomaly on the periphery of white evangelism, it is in the bones, in the marrow, and in the DNA of the thing. White evangelicalism as an entity has historically and inarguably supported the status quo, racism, and white supremacy. Racism is the thread that runs throughout evangelical dogma, both past and present.
“It is racism that binds and blinds many American evangelicals to the vilification of Muslims, Latinos, and African Americans. It is racism that impels many evangelicals to oppose emigration and turn a blind eye to children in cages at the border. It is racism that fuels evangelical Islamophobia.”
White evangelicals are much more than simply a religious group, they are a strong political lobby and a large voting block on the American landscape. It is nearly impossible to separate racism from their pious and dogmatic right-wing politics. It is an entwining of faith, flag, and firearms—and it is a form of dominionism.
THE MYTH OF A MORAL MAJORITY
“I don’t want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of people. They never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populous goes down.” -Paul Weyrich, Catholic Republican, 1980
I always equate the term Moral Majority with the misnomer of King Cobra. As the “King Cobra” is neither a true cobra nor a monarch, the so-called “Moral Majority” is neither a true majority nor is it all that moral. Founded in 1979 by the reprehensible Jerry Falwell Sr., the Moral Majority established white evangelicals as a political force. Particularly concentrated in the Republican Party, the Moral Majority’s published agenda included:
I. Opposition to media outlets accused of promoting “anti-family agendas.”
II. Opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment for women.
III. Opposition to state recognition or acceptance of homosexual acts.
IV. Prohibition of legalized abortion, including in cases involving incest or rape.
V. The establishment of Christian prayer in public schools.
VI. The conversion of Jews and other non-Christians to the Christian faith.
Although the Moral Majority technically disbanded in 1989, Rev. Falwell had ominous words to say in parting…
“Our goal has been achieved . . . The religious right is solidly in place and [white] religious conservatives in America are now in for the duration.”
THE MYTH OF PERSECUTION
“Yes, the long war on Christianity. I pray that one day we may live in an America where Christians can worship freely! In broad daylight! Openly wearing the symbols of their religion... perhaps around their necks? And maybe… dare I dream it? …maybe one day there can be an openly Christian President. Or, perhaps, 43 [now 46] of them. Consecutively.” -Jon Stewart, comedian
White evangelicals make up just 14% of the American population overall. Still, they remain the largest single religious group in the Republican Party. With that comes a disproportionate ability to sway party priorities. They are quick to play the victim, claiming religious persecution, whenever their agenda is being challenged. Butler contends (and I wholeheartedly agree) that white Christian evangelicals in America are not being persecuted, they are simply being called to account.
A PLAUSIBLE & LOGICAL EXPLANATION
“Why do people who identify as evangelicals vote over and over again for political figures who, in speech and deed, do not evince the Christian qualities that evangelicalism espouses? My answer is that evangelicalism is not simply a religious group at all. Rather it is a nationalist political movement whose purpose is to support the hegemony of white Christian men over and against the flourishing of others.” -Anthea Butler, 2021
. . . ‘nuff said.
A FEATURE, NOT A BUG
“It was evangelical acceptance of biblically sanctioned racism that motivated believers to separate and sell families during slavery, and to march with the klan. Racist evangelicals shielded cross burners, protected church burners, and participated in lynchings. Racism is a feature, not a bug, of American evangelism (emphasis mine).”
When you read Anthea Butler’s White Evangelical Racism it becomes abundantly clear that bigotry is not just some inconsequential anomaly on the periphery of white evangelism, it is in the bones, in the marrow, and in the DNA of the thing. White evangelicalism as an entity has historically and inarguably supported the status quo, racism, and white supremacy. Racism is the thread that runs throughout evangelical dogma, both past and present.
“It is racism that binds and blinds many American evangelicals to the vilification of Muslims, Latinos, and African Americans. It is racism that impels many evangelicals to oppose emigration and turn a blind eye to children in cages at the border. It is racism that fuels evangelical Islamophobia.”
White evangelicals are much more than simply a religious group, they are a strong political lobby and a large voting block on the American landscape. It is nearly impossible to separate racism from their pious and dogmatic right-wing politics. It is an entwining of faith, flag, and firearms—and it is a form of dominionism.
THE MYTH OF A MORAL MAJORITY
“I don’t want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of people. They never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populous goes down.” -Paul Weyrich, Catholic Republican, 1980
I always equate the term Moral Majority with the misnomer of King Cobra. As the “King Cobra” is neither a true cobra nor a monarch, the so-called “Moral Majority” is neither a true majority nor is it all that moral. Founded in 1979 by the reprehensible Jerry Falwell Sr., the Moral Majority established white evangelicals as a political force. Particularly concentrated in the Republican Party, the Moral Majority’s published agenda included:
I. Opposition to media outlets accused of promoting “anti-family agendas.”
II. Opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment for women.
III. Opposition to state recognition or acceptance of homosexual acts.
IV. Prohibition of legalized abortion, including in cases involving incest or rape.
V. The establishment of Christian prayer in public schools.
VI. The conversion of Jews and other non-Christians to the Christian faith.
Although the Moral Majority technically disbanded in 1989, Rev. Falwell had ominous words to say in parting…
“Our goal has been achieved . . . The religious right is solidly in place and [white] religious conservatives in America are now in for the duration.”
THE MYTH OF PERSECUTION
“Yes, the long war on Christianity. I pray that one day we may live in an America where Christians can worship freely! In broad daylight! Openly wearing the symbols of their religion... perhaps around their necks? And maybe… dare I dream it? …maybe one day there can be an openly Christian President. Or, perhaps, 43 [now 46] of them. Consecutively.” -Jon Stewart, comedian
White evangelicals make up just 14% of the American population overall. Still, they remain the largest single religious group in the Republican Party. With that comes a disproportionate ability to sway party priorities. They are quick to play the victim, claiming religious persecution, whenever their agenda is being challenged. Butler contends (and I wholeheartedly agree) that white Christian evangelicals in America are not being persecuted, they are simply being called to account.
A PLAUSIBLE & LOGICAL EXPLANATION
“Why do people who identify as evangelicals vote over and over again for political figures who, in speech and deed, do not evince the Christian qualities that evangelicalism espouses? My answer is that evangelicalism is not simply a religious group at all. Rather it is a nationalist political movement whose purpose is to support the hegemony of white Christian men over and against the flourishing of others.” -Anthea Butler, 2021
. . . ‘nuff said.