White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America

November 16, 2021 11:39 AM

"The American political scene today is poisonously divided, and the vast majority of white evangelicals play a strikingly unified, powerful role in the disunion. These evangelicals raise a starkly consequential question for electoral politics: Why do they claim morality while supporting politicians who act immorally by most Christian measures? In this clear-eyed, hard-hitting chronicle of American religion and politics, Anthea Butler answers that racism is at the core of conservative evangelical activism and power."

From an interview with Anthea Butler, associate professor of religious studies and Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania, for Religion & Politics:

I address these questions at some length in the book, exploring how the meaning of evangelicalism has changed over time, and recognizing that there are a lot of people out there who don’t realize they’re in this thing because their self-concept leans heavily on theological considerations, allowing them to pretend that they’re not political. But nobody cares about your commitment to the Bebbington Quadrilateral when you’re arguing about the Supreme Court or judges or abortion. They care about how your belief informs your politics, which candidates you vote for, and what they stand for. So I wanted to pull evangelicals out of this safe little realm in which they’ve placed themselves and press them to confront how other people see them.

posted by MonkeyToes (2 comments total)

Have you read "Jesus and John Wayne," and if so, can you compare the books?

(I just started "J&JW" and I am curious about the relationship of books on the topic.)
posted by wenestvedt at 12:54 PM on November 16, 2021

Not yet, but it's on my to-read list, and I hope you make a FF post for it. You might be interested in this, from Religion News Service: Evangelical disillusionment is finding a home in book clubs.
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:15 PM on November 16, 2021 [1 favorite]