Theology of white Protestant superiority undergirded a century of lynchings

Evidence

It would not be until I was well into a PhD program at Emory University in my thirties that I was confronted with the brutal violence that white Christians deployed to resist black enfranchisement following the Civil War. The theologically backed assertion of the superiority of both “the white race” and Protestant Christianity undergirded a century of religiously sanctioned terrorism in the form of ritualized lynchings and other forms of public violence and intimidation. — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 29

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to ‘Muslims in the Western Imagination’ — religiously sanctioned violence against an out-group grounded in theological superiority claims. — connects to: White churches morally legitimized and protected white supremacy through state power — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 125; The Bible becomes a purity shield for white Protestant innocence claims — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 228; White Christianity’s function was protecting white racial innocence — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 69 (+11 more)

Broader Connections

• Christian theology and institutions served as the central support for American white supremacy #expands (0.90) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 32
• White Christianity’s function was protecting white racial innocence #expands (0.88) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 69
• White Christianity has been the primary institution legitimizing white power #expands (0.88) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 210
• Theology justified slavery and genocide by marking whiteness as Christian #expands (0.85) — Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry, 145
• White churches historically functioned as agents upholding racist social structures #corroborates (0.82) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 1055
• White Redeemers used Christian theology to justify reversing Reconstruction with violence #expands (0.80) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 1037
• White Christian theology adapted to changing times only by shifting to subtler racism #qualifies (0.75) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 234