A new book argues most white US Christians worship a religion of whiteness

[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nn(RNS) — In 2021, two sociologists wrote a book about the fraught efforts of white evangelicals to diversify their congregations to better address racial discrimination in the church.Now, one of those authors, Michael Emerson, has teamed up with another sociologist, Glenn Bracey, for an update.
Their conclusions are grim.
In “The Religion of Whiteness: How Racism Distorts Christian Faith,” Emerson and Bracey suggest that as many as two-thirds of white Christians in the U.S. have elevated whiteness to a religion itself, one that rivals Christianity.
It’s a controversial claim, but one they support through interviews with Christian church leaders, many of them Black, about the state of race in the church, as well as a set of national surveys they conducted over the past few years.
Emerson and Bracey depict a Christianity that effectively worships the white race with a white Jesus at its center and a set of sacred symbols, including the flag (both the U.S. flag and sometimes the Confederate flag), the cross and, increasingly, guns. Though their churches may be slightly more racially diverse, this religion of whiteness strives to maintain whites at the top of the racial hierarchy as part of God’s ordained order.
Religion …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]