A former governor recognized white Christianity sanctioned rather than forbade lynching.

Evidence

For Atkinson’s part, facing the tinderbox of imminent mob violence, he would undoubtedly have reached for the most powerful rhetorical weapon at his disposal. But just moments after a significant portion of the crowd had shared pews, observed Communion, read the Bible, sang hymns, and listened to sermons, Atkinson appealed not to Christian principles and morality but rather to the rule of law as his best strategy for dispersing the crowd. The ex-governor must have instinctively understood that white Christianity, as it was believed and practiced by his fellow townspeople, was perfectly compatible with the mob lynching of a black man. — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 95

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: The insight that leaders instinctively reached for law, not Christian morality, to restrain a crowd that had just been at church, is a paradigm-shifting observation about how Southern white Christianity actually functioned.
• ADDENDUM: Strong supporting material for the ‘On Sacrifice’ framing of ritual violence — the lynching is staged as a communal religious-like ritual with crowd participation and ecstatic response.
• XREF: connects to: A governor won office on a theology that God ordained segregation — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 118

Broader Connections

• A governor won office on a theology that God ordained segregation #expands (0.85) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 118