White Christian theology adapted to changing times only by shifting to subtler racism

Evidence

While white Christian theology evolved in response to the changing environment, it responded primarily by shifting from more overt to more subtle expressions of white supremacy rather than a wholesale reexamination of its racist roots. A close examination of key theological doctrines such as the Christian worldview of slaveholders, sin, and salvation, the centrality of a personal relationship with Jesus, and the use of the Bible reveals how each was tailored to resist black equality and protect white superiority, and how this legacy dramatically limits the moral and religious vision of white Christians today. — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 234

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: White churches tolerated black presence in outreach roles but panicked at black worship participation — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 157; Catholic bishops shifted resources to white suburban parishes while abandoning black inner-city churches — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 197; Doctrines like biblical inerrancy may have evolved partly to reinforce white dominance — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 209 (+11 more)

Broader Connections

• White Christianity’s present racism is the predictable product of its history #corroborates (0.92) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 549
• Contemporary white Christian coherence depends on unacknowledged racist history. #corroborates (0.85) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 78
• White Christianity’s function was protecting white racial innocence #corroborates (0.80) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 69
• Evangelical Christian faith now promotes rather than restrains racial prejudice #expands (0.77)
• Intense Christian faith now correlates with rather than reduces racial prejudice #expands (0.75)
• White Christians must abandon claims of racial and theological innocence to confront their past #expands (0.72) — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 233
• Medieval Christianity seeded the modern fusion of whiteness and faith #expands (0.70) — Sophia Rose Arjana, Muslims in the Western Imagination, 111