The rule of law, not Christianity, was the strongest rhetoric against mob violence
Evidence
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
- XREF: connects to: Nineteenth-century faith in the law’s impartiality dwarfed later responses to persecution