Christian theology and institutions served as the central support for American white supremacy

Evidence

Drawing on a mix of history, memoir, and contemporary public opinion survey data, this book reveals unsettling truths about what white Christians actually believe, what motivates their behavior, and what constitutes the core of their identity. The historical record of lived Christianity in America reveals that Christian theology and institutions have been the central cultural tent pole holding up the very idea of white supremacy. And the genetic imprint of this legacy remains present and measurable in contemporary white Christianity, not only among evangelicals in the South but also among mainline Protestants in the Midwest and Catholics in the Northeast. — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 32

Categorization

• XREF: Extends the claim that religious institutions encode racial hierarchy, mirroring themes from Ambedkar on caste as religiously sanctioned hierarchy — ‘Annihilation of Caste’. — connects to: National pro-civil-rights white church bodies concealed congregational white supremacy — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 185; White Christianity has been the primary institution legitimizing white power — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 210; Southern evangelical theology spread to dominate all of white American Christianity — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 261 (+15 more)
• SEED: Angle for an essay: mainstream claims that racism is a secular or political problem and that Christianity was incidental to it, versus evidence Christianity was the ideological keystone.

Broader Connections

• White churches morally legitimized and protected white supremacy through state power #corroborates (0.95) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 125
• White churches historically functioned as agents upholding racist social structures #corroborates (0.93) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 1055
• Catholic institutions also served slaveholding and colonial white supremacy in America #corroborates (0.92) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 34
• White churches actively produced white supremacy rather than merely tolerating it #expands (0.88) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 102
• American religious freedom has historically been reserved for White Christians #corroborates (0.85) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 482
• Christian nationalism independently drives racial intolerance in white Americans #corroborates (0.80) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 98
• Evangelical Christianity predicts higher symbolic racism among White Americans #corroborates (0.78) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2189
• Christian nationalism conflates whiteness with Christian American identity #expands (0.75) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 14
• White supremacy deflects blame from Christianity onto culture when exposed #expands (0.75) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 70
• Christian nationalism predicts ultra-conservatism mainly for white Americans, not Black or Hispanic #qualifies (0.72) — Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry, The Flag and the Cross, 98