Divine blessing narratives absolve privileged groups of accountability for harms.

Evidence

White Christian nationalism creates a world that works to the advantage of one group while marginalizing others. It legitimizes and even sanctifies the advantages of the in-group, providing them with a divine explanation for their advantage. This is an effective (and sinister) move, as it eliminates accountability for how those advantages create hardships for others and removes any responsibility for repairing what is broken. Those with privilege can merely chalk up their wins to God’s favor and their losses to attacks from evil in their midst. — Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry, 229

Categorization

• XREF: Connects directly to the reader’s long-running thread on ideology, hegemony, and how power legitimates itself — same mechanism as racial ideology rationalizing class position, and god-sanctioned hierarchy in sacral kingship. — connects to: Benevolent beliefs can recruit subordinates into supporting their own oppression. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 773; Small restorative acts against vast harms serve as personal absolution for collective guilt — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 1318; Divine legitimization of group advantage removes accountability for causing harm. (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Divine legitimization of group advantage removes accountability for causing harm. #expands (0.92)
• Sanctifying harmful means as worthy removes guilt and even elicits pride #expands (0.90)
• Uplifting comparisons legitimize harmful acts by associating them with revered moral figures #expands (0.85)
• Belief in a cause’s morality turns destructive acts into pride #expands (0.83)
• Small restorative acts against vast harms serve as personal absolution for collective guilt #exemplifies (0.80) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 1318
• Group members legitimize their ingroup’s harmful actions to avoid guilt #expands (0.80) — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 53
• Benevolent beliefs can recruit subordinates into supporting their own oppression. #expands (0.78) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 773