Church membership provided the moral foundation for Jim Crow political power.

Evidence

Both the informal conduits of white power, such as the White Citizens’ Councils of the 1950s and 1960s, and the state and local government offices, were populated by pastors, deacons, Sunday school teachers, and other upstanding members of prominent white churches. The link between political leaders and prominent white churches was not just incidental; these religious connections served as the moral underpinning for the entire project of protecting the dominant social and political standing of whites. — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 29

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: White churches actively constructed, not merely tolerated, white supremacy. — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 30; White churches historically functioned as agents upholding racist social structures — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project: A New American Origin…, 1055; US government has used religion to justify racial subordination throughout history — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 1068 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• White churches historically functioned as agents upholding racist social structures #complicates (0.80) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 1055
• US government has used religion to justify racial subordination throughout history #corroborates (0.78) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 1068