White Evangelical Racism, Second Edition: The Politics of Morality in America

by Anthea Butler

184 pages, Paperback

Published October 29, 2024

Reviews

[Jeffrey Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Butler's modest volume begins with a righteous howl and doesn't relent until its vexing and vindicating conclusion. In the preface to the second edition, she asks: What happens when white American evangelicals get everything they want?

To which she responds: "You get vaccine denialism and the willingness to accept a million dead from COVID-19, disproportionately represented by the weakest and most disadvantaged. You get hatred of immigrants. You get a war on anything that might be labeled as 'woke' fought with weapons like book bans, DEI bans, proscriptions against critical thinking about racism, and calls for violence against those who dare to dissent. You get a Supreme Court that ends Roe v. Wade and opens the floodgates to state-level action that endangers the lives of women--and research indicates that the harms fall disproportionately on women of color--and seeks to ban in vitro fertilization. You get laws dictating that the Ten Commandments be displayed in the public school classrooms and policies requiring the teachings of the Christian Bible."

Similar to Randall Balmer's Bad Faith, Butler's book traces the racist origins of Christian nationalism, how it became a fusion of evangelicals and "unchurched" right-wingers who have either been complicit in the authoritarian slide of the Religious Right or accelerated it.

For those confounded by how their Christian friends, family, and neighbors can champion a politics that revels in cruelty and exclusion that runs so counter to the core ethos of a Nazarene preacher from two millennia ago, White Evangelical Racism offers the analytical tools and history to begin making sense of the the "America First" corner of the conservative tent.

So what inspires white evangelicals to repeatedly vote for such regressive and inhumane policies trumpeted by leaders with little regard for the "least among us"?

Butler concludes: "My answer is that evangelicalism is not a simply religious group at all. Rather, it is a nationalistic political movement whose purpose is to support the hegemony of white Christian men over and against the flourishing of others."

I know there are white evangelicals who fall outside of this framing; but they are far too small a contingency, overwhelmed by or passive against an ideology and culture that has little interest in democracy or egalitarian principles.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly eye opening. The ties between racism and evangelicalism are astounding. And more so the guts to deny any measure of accountability and labeling it “persecution”.

If you have ever been involved in any form of evangelicalism, read this book. It is the worship of power not Christ himself that leads to such bigotry. This book does an excellent job uncovering the history of racism in evangelicalism in a way that is challenging and intellectual.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

During this current political milieu I found Anthea Butler’s "Evangelical White Racism;" she presents a concise explanation how justice has been sacrificed for power. I was alive during many of the years that she describes (no, not the Civil War), and I saw it happening in real time. This current definition of morality brings tears to my heart, and “White Evangelical Racism” was not an easy book to read. From my corner of this world, it is a must-read.

[David Doel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned quite a bit from this essay. I think I am better able to see why Trump attracts so many "Christian" voters, and the reason is not attractive. I also am reminded that I am not entirely free of racism. This was a particularly good refresher on recent history in the US.

[Jo Cress · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well I knew it was gonna be good when the first sentence was a well known, embarrassing Louis Giglio quote. 💀 It’s a short read, I highly recommend.