Robert P. Jones (1) (1968–)

Absolutely fantastic. This is by no means an easy read, but a necessary one. We are long overdue on acknowledging and atoning for past (and present) transgressions against the BIPOC community. White American Christianity cultivated and fostered slavery, segregation, and fear mongering far too long to just wipe it under the rug and say "sorry." Robert P. Jones does an exemplary job describing the roots of racism in American Christianity (Catholics, Protestants, Lutherans, Episcopalians), the show more theology, the practice, and the monuments (I was appalled to find out how much Confederate imagery is found in Southern Churches - Robert E Lee depicted as a saint in stained glass?!). The author also scientifically and historically backs up all his claims which adds that extra gut punch. It's not all doom and gloom though. He ends by telling stories of change from around the country and then maps out ways in which white Christian Americans can move forward hand in hand with their Black brethren. It's time to come together to acknowledge, condemn, and work towards meaningful change - not just platitudes. A phenomenal book. show less

It took me 2 months to read and digest this book, which pretty much bowled me over with its conclusions. But it also put to rest some of the internal arguments I've had with people who consider themselves good Christians and yet adore Trump, no matter how un-Christian his actions are.

The author is the founder and CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, which, among other things, does surveys about religious and other attitudes. He was raised in a conservative southern church so has show more experience with much of what he's discussing. A large part of the book is a history of white Christianity in America and its involvement in encouraging, maintaining and excusing first slavery and then Jim Crow. It's quite an appalling story, with many anecdotes and quotes describing ministers, bishops, and important lay people being involved in mobs and lynchings, even celebrating them in church. Church publications supported this push to help members feel they were in the right, and white children were taught that slavery was beneficial to the victims, who, they were told, were always treated well.

One interesting section concerns the spurts of monument building and the present-day movement to remove them. While the argument is often made that by removing them we are destroying part of our heritage, Jones points out that the majority of monuments were put up after 1900 to intimidate blacks and discourage civil rights activities in two distinct periods: c1900-1920 and then the modern civil rights effort several decades later. Lavish installation ceremonies invoked the old South, the Confederacy, the Christian community, and national pride.

The last few chapters discuss the surveys done by the PRRI to determine whether racist beliefs point towards a probable Christian identity, or whether Christian identity is a positive indication of racist beliefs. In fact, what they found was that BOTH were true. In addition, frequency of church attendance was not, contrary to what might be expected, a way to predict whether someone was more or less likely to be racist. White people with no religious affiliation were much less likely to be racists, and non-racist white people were much less likely to identify as Christians. These last two, in fact, actually had negative correlation. The very last section discusses efforts that have been made to cross the racial divide in an actually meaningful way. This part was hard for me, personally, because to do this white people need to accept the guilt of our kind, even though we may not have lived at that time, and recognize how much damage is still being done to keep a status quo beneficial to us.

This is discomfiting but priceless information. Whether many people will accept the facts presented here is tough to answer and probably unlikely. But for anyone interested in these topics, and especially those wondering WTF is going on with white evangelicals in the Trump campaign, this is most enlightening. show less

The author explores the heritage of white supremacy in White Christianity in America from Jim Crow days until the present, illuminated by his personal experience having grown up in the Deep South.

The author sets forth his personal experience growing up in a predominantly White Baptist church in Jackson, Mississippi. He recounted the heritage of white supremacy in the history of the congregation in which he grew up, and set forth how "normal" the de facto segregation on Sunday morning was show more made to seem, the rationalization thereof based on worship style, and the presence of Southern racist heritage markers throughout the town and the high school.

The author then sets forth the distressing evidence from the research done by his Public Research Research Institute (PRRI). Whereas white Christians (Catholic/mainline Protestant/Evangelical) all testify they feel warmly toward Black and nonwhite people, on every significant issue and marker a clear delineation takes place: white Christians all align with each other on questions relating to immigration and treatment of immigrants, questions about police and the carceral state, comfort with the advancement of multiculturalism, etc., and black Protestants end up on the other side of that scale, with nonreligious Americans more aligned toward the latter more than the former. The author is able to demonstrate that such attitudes are not merely correlative: participation in White Christianity tends to lead to such conclusions. The conclusion of the matter is hard to escape: if you want to find the people who are more comfortable with white supremacy in a given town, go to a predominantly white church on a Sunday morning.

The author then does well at explaining from where this all came, exploring the theology built and developed predominantly in white Protestantism and Evangelicalism in the 19th and first half of the 20th century, how steeped it was in white supremacy, and thus focused on personal piety to the expense of any concern regarding systemic social challenges. The author spends much time exploring the prevalence of monuments to the Confederacy in the South and the Lost Cause historiological mythology they were attempting to prop up; it is interesting to see how much more movement has come in removing said monuments and recognizing their toxicity since the author wrote the book. The author tells stories of people and churches reckoning with their heritage of white supremacy and taking concrete steps toward racial justice, prominently featuring a white and a Black sister Baptist churches in Macon, GA. He concludes with exhortations toward coming to grips with the past, lamenting the heritage of white supremacy, and moving forward in repentance toward racial justice.

A deeply distressing and uncomfortable read for white Christians, but very necessary.

**--galley received as part of early review program show less

I will give this a 4.5 rating. I was afraid this book was going to be a lot of preachy, scripture-laced jargon but it was a fact-based approach to the issue of racism and Christianity which I appreciated. He shows that the roots of racism are intertwined with the message of white Christianity to the point that it actually increases the chances of being a racist. It was startling that in all categories pertaining to race relations, non-religious whites were markedly less likely (30-40 show more percentage points!) to espouse racist beliefs or support racist policies than white Christians. The connection seems obvious when looking at an example like the Southern Baptists who purposefully broke off with the main Baptist church because they denounced slavery while the SBC aided in the confederacy and promoted the ideals of white supremacy from the pulpit. But to show that even now, our approach to white Christian faith allows for these views to fester and ignores our complicity in its continued endurance. From the early 1900's when "Christians," upon leaving Easter Sunday services, immediately participated in a brutal lynching to modern day policing and white Christian support of the Trump presidency, shows how ingrained the ideas of white supremacy and Christianity still are. He does end with optimism and believes that white Christians are beginning to acknowledge our participation in the oppression of POC and to try to make amends, not by jumping straight to forgiveness but by doing the hard work of admitting guilt, complicity and performing acts of atonement. Sadly, I am not as optimistic as he is but I certainly believe we must continue to try to banish these hateful beliefs with all that we are and all that we can do. show less