White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity

by Robert P. Jones

WINNER of a 2021 American Book Award.

"An indispensible study" ( Kirkus Reviews , starred review) drawing on history, public opinion surveys, and personal experience that presents a provocative examination of the unholy relationship between American Christianity and white supremacy, and issues an urgent call for white Christians to reckon with this legacy for the sake of themselves and the nation.

As the nation grapples with demographic changes and the legacy of racism in America, Christianity's role as a cornerstone of white supremacy has been largely overlooked. But white Christians—from evangelicals in the South to mainline Protestants in the Midwest and Catholics in the Northeast—have not just been complacent or complicit; rather, as the dominant cultural power, they have constructed and sustained a project of protecting white supremacy and opposing black equality that has framed the entire American story.

With his family's 1815 Bible in one hand and contemporary public opinion surveys by Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) in the other, Robert P. Jones delivers "a refreshing blend of historical accounting, soul searching reflection, and analysis" ( Publishers Weekly ) of the repressed relationship between Christianity and white supremacy. White Too Long is "a marvel" ( Booklist , starred review) that demonstrates how deeply racist attitudes have become embedded in the DNA of white Christian identity over time and calls for an honest reckoning with a complicated, painful, and even shameful past. Jones challenges white Christians to acknowledge that public apologies are not enough—accepting responsibility for the past requires work toward repair in the present.

White Too Long is not an appeal to altruism. It is "a powerful and much-needed book" (Eddie S. Glaude Jr, professor at Princeton University and author of Begin Again ) drawing on lessons gleaned from case studies of communities beginning to face these challenges. Jones argues that contemporary white Christians must confront these unsettling truths because this is the only way to salvage the integrity of their faith and their own identities. More broadly, it is no exaggeration to say that not just the future of white Christianity, but the outcome of the American experiment is at stake.

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, History, Race, Politics, Christianity, Christian

336 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2020

About the author

Robert P. Jones is the president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). He is the New York Times bestselling author of The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future (2023), as well as White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity (2020), which won a 2021 American Book Award. He is also the author of The End of White Christian America (2016), which won the 2019 Grawemeyer Award in Religion.

Jones writes regularly on politics, culture, and religion for The Atlantic, TIME, Religion News Service, and other outlets. He is frequently featured in major national media, such as CNN, MSNBC, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others. Jones writes a weekly newsletter for those dedicated to the work of truth-telling, repair, and healing from the legacy of white supremacy in American Christianity at www.whitetoolong.net.

He holds a Ph.D. in religion from Emory University, an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a B.S. in computing science and mathematics from Mississippi College. Jones was selected by Emory University’s Graduate Division of Religion as Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 2013, and by Mississippi College’s Mathematics Department as Alumnus of the Year in 2016. Jones serves on the national program committee for the American Academy of Religion and is a past member of the editorial boards for the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, and Politics and Religion, a journal of the American Political Science Association.

Jones served as CEO of PRRI from the organization’s inception in 2009 to 2022. Before founding PRRI, he worked as a consultant and senior research fellow at several think tanks in Washington, D.C., and was an assistant professor of religious studies at Missouri State University.

Reviews

[BlackOxford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Real Family Values

Here’s what Robert Jones has to say: Christianity in America has been and remains the single most important source of racial prejudice and active bias against the black population of the country. His sub-points, supported by enormous amounts of data, studies, and reports, are roughly as follows:

1. Historically the Christian churches of America have consistently used religious doctrine to justify both slavery and white supremacy.
2. These same churches have institutionalised racism within their own organisations by segregating congregations, educational facilities, and church leadership.
3. More recently, the political campaign for ‘Christian family values,’ which unites Catholic and Protestant sects is a thinly veiled attempt to promote continuing white cultural dominance.

This is undoubtedly news for some. But not for those who remember the Christian complicity with Nazism and the Holocaust. Or for those who are sufficiently educated to know that the French, English, Spanish, and Portuguese churches were the front-line forces for the subjugation and elimination of the native populations of North and South America as well as large parts of Africa and Asia. And not for the single mothers of Ireland, or the Conversos of Spain and Portugal, or the pedophile-victims in Mexico, or the gay folk of Poland, or the atheists of any town in Red State America.

The facts of Christian-inspired racial injustice assembled by Jones are important, however, not because they are news but because they compel an important conclusion that few Christians want to recognise: the crimes of Christianity are the rule not the exception. Christianity promotes a doctrine of love; it lives a consistent policy of hatefulness. That this has been so even in its most primitive stages of development is clear in its own scriptures and history. And to the degree that any culture has been influenced by Christian thought, hatefulness and oppression has increased proportionally.

This persistent inhumanness of Christianity is not a function of any particular doctrine but of what it means to be a Christian. Whatever sect or congregation, a Christian is identified by the idea of belief. It is faith, ostensibly faith in a formula of words, which makes a Christian. The specific creeds may vary, but having one is what all forms of Christianity uniquely have in common.

Creeds are the focal points for Christian communities. Being formulated in words, creeds demand continuous interpretation - from language to language, culture to culture and situation to situation. From this comes the need for organisation - a process, structure of authority and method of enforcement for ‘correct’ interpretation.

And religious organisation is unavoidably political, not just internally regarding the interpretations to be accepted by believers, but also externally in the religious organisations relations with the rest of society. The greater the role played by a religious organisation in society, the greater this function of external politics becomes.

But here is where things get particularly sticky in two distinct ways. The first rule of all organisational leadership is to maintain the power of leadership. Religious leaders typically claim the source of their organisational power in God. Hence the degeneration of large religious organisation into impenetrable bureaucracies, and smaller ones into cultic strangeness.

But it a different problem which Christianity has historically failed to cope with. The politics of faith has always been a prime target of secular politicians. And as a matter of historical record, Christian institutions have been consistently co-opted by secular politics. From Constantine to Donald Trump, there is no period of institutional Christianity that has been immune from enlistment into secular interests.

Of course the Christians involved in such outflanking by their secular counterparts don’t even suspect their situation. In fact they consider themselves to be influencing social and cultural policy. Theirs is a willing, often passionate, naïveté which allows them to think they maintain control over the interpretations their creeds and the social matrix in which these creeds are explicated.

So it is hardly surprising that Christianity is the primary social vector for American racism. America is an inherently racist place. Its religious institutions are unlikely to be otherwise. Christianity is easy for evil to infiltrate, and very difficult to spot much less eradicate once embedded. Ah, the delights of faith. As every secular politician knows, anyone who believes in the Virgin Birth will believe in birtherism or any other racial slur with only the slightest provocation.

This is the point that I don’t think Jones gets. ‘True’ Christianity is not something other than what is practised in America. Christianity by its very constitution of faith is always this way. That the very different American constitution was formulated by atheists and deists ended up in such a Christian mess is one of the more interesting ironies of the country.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the wake of the insurrection attempt at the Capitol on January 6th, I followed the media reports of the participants that were subsequently arrested. It surprised me how often they referred to their Christian faith as contributing to the reason they were rioting and storming the Capitol. Yes, a few of them were inspired by right-wing Christian groups like Patriot Prayer; but not all. Why do white supremacists feel that their racist beliefs are supported by their Christian faith?

Robert Jones is the founder of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), an organization whose worldview is liberal and ecumenical. His latest book draws its title from James Baldwin: “They have been white…too long; they have been married to the lie of white supremacy too long.” Jones’ excellently researched account includes history, statistics, and some autobiographical details from Jones’ own life experience growing up in the deep south.

The statistical data strongly supports the idea that active religious affiliation correlates to racial bias, particularly when it is the dominant faith in the region—so among white Catholics in the northeast, and white Protestants in the South. While southern churches historically supported slavery and segregation, even mainline Protestant and Catholic churches discouraged integration. Indeed, the PRRI has developed a set of 15 survey questions designed to reveal a ‘racism index’. The polling results show that “the more racist attitudes a person holds, the more likely he or she is to identify as a white Christian”.

There are a plethora of ways that white Christianity has cultivated the religious, political, economic and social superiority of white people despite some church’s efforts to discourage these tendencies. Jones believes that predominantly white churches need to do a much better job—even if it is more incrementalism. Highly recommend.

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

UPDATE:

Multiple pastors tell me essentially the same story about quoting the Sermon on the Mount parenthetically in their preaching turn the other cheek to have someone come up after and say, 'Where did you get those liberal talking points?'

And what was alarming to me is that in most of those scenarios, when the pastor would say I'm literally quoting Jesus Christ, the response would not be 'I apologize.' The response would be 'that doesn't work anymore.'-- Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America, Russell Moore

UPDATE:

Concerned Women for America (CWA), a group representing evangelical Christian women, announced that former President Donald Trump would be their guest speaker at a hotel near the White House. Announcing Trump's speech, the CWA said the former president had signed its presidential promise to American women, pledging to recognize the unique dignity of women.

Penny Nance, chief executive and president of the CWA legislative action committee said: 'Our leaders are excited to hear from President Trump and honored he has prioritized this gathering to lay out his vision for our country.'

Trump is scheduled to speak to the CWA gathering at 7 pm and at 9 pm he will speak to The Pray, Vote, Stand Summit hosted by the Family Research Council. -- The Guardian (09/13/23)

UPDATE:

We see now young evangelicals walking away from evangelism not because they do not believe what the church teaches, but because they believe the "church itself" does not believe what the church teaches.-- Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America , Russell Moore:

UPDATE:

Headline, Washington Post, (08/29/23)

Pope criticizes 'reactionary' conservative elements in U.S. Catholic Church

Pope Francis spoke out against what he described as the 'reactionary' nature of more conservative elements of the U.S. Catholic Church, arguing that some are replacing faith with ideology.
*******

Like many readers, when I read a work of fiction that I like I immediately search out other books written by that writer and (eventually) read them. That also happens to a lesser degree with nonfiction, but with nonfiction I am more inclined to not seek other books by that author but to look for books on the same subjects written by other people.

For example, I read The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism by Katherine Stewart. In her book, Stewart, a journalist, warned that America’s religious right has evolved into a political movement whose goal is to acquire power and to impose its vision on society.

So, I followed that book by reading Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez, a history professor who teaches at a religiously affiliated university in Michigan. In her book she explained why white evangelical Christians gave 81 percent of their votes to Donald Trump in 2016 and 76 percent in 2020. It is her opinion that it was not a case of “voting for the lesser evil,” but was due to the fact that evangelicals had been looking for such a leader for about a half-century.

How could that be?

Maybe it is easy to believe if a recent CBS News poll is correct. Despite the fact that Trump has been impeached twice and is facing ninety-one counts of criminal misconduct, Trump voters indicate that they trust the ex-president more than their friends, family, religious leaders, and even conservative media figures like Tucker Carlson.

Critics of Du Mez’s book, who are primarily evangelical writers, faulted her for what they believed was a too broad brush in her portrait of white evangelicals.

Then I wonder what they think about the book I read after that one. Robert P. Jones used an even broader brush in his book, White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity. Whereas, Du Mez criticized white evangelicals for what she detected as a strain of white supremacy in their make-up, Jones says that racial discrimination is a problem in all Christian faiths, not just evangelical Protestantism, but also in mainline Protestant churches, and, not just Protestant denominations, but also the Catholic Church.

Jones, unlike the authors of the other two books, is a researcher and is able to back up his views with data. The most startling fact that his research revealed is that racial prejudice among white Christians is considerably higher than it is among the religiously unaffiliated, who are much more progressive on the issue.

Jones concludes that “white supremacy is deeply integrated into the DNA of white Christianity” and that “white Christians have not just been complacent; they have been responsible for constructing and sustaining a project to protect white supremacy at the expense of black equality.”
******
And by the way ---

Robert P. Jones is a lifetime evangelical Christian, who grew up in Texas and Mississippi. He is the Founder and CEO of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). The focus of his research is on religion and its intersection with politics.

His book is an indictment, but it is also a call to action. In the closing chapters he writes about “reckoning, reconciliation, and repair” and gives examples of congregations that are going through that three-stage process to deal with their white supremacy issue. He is hopeful that the process will become more prevalent among churches.

******
White Too Long epigraph:

“I will flatly say that the bulk of this country’s white population impresses me, and has so impressed me for a very long time, as being beyond any conceivable hope of moral rehabilitation. They have been white, if I may put it, too long …” – James Baldwin, The New York Times, February 2, 1969
******

[Sunny Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is incredible and all white people who grew up as or are practicing Christians need to read this!!!! A thorough and comprehensive analysis of the undeniable ties between America's history of white supremacy and dominant white religious institutions. Knocked one point down for some of the kumbaya liberalism towards the end and the focus on symbols of racism as opposed to material realities of racial capitalism, however, a very very good read regardless.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The provenance of White American Christianity is firmly rooted in the conviction that chattel slavery is not only biblically ethical, it is divinely ordained. And no denomination of white christianity better illustrates this certitude than the faith of my upbringing, the secessionist Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), est. 1845.

“Slavery was the main issue that led to the 1845 schism; that is a cold historical fact” -Robert Baker, The Baptist Heritage, 1987

Baptists, believe it or not, are not the focal point of Robert Jones’ White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity. I only put them at the forefront because they are the faith with which I am excruciatingly familiar. I cannot personally attest to the bigotry of white Methodists or the intolerance of white Presbyterians or the prejudice of white Roman Catholics, but I can damn sure testify to the racism of 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s white Southern Baptists. If my comments here lean toward distaste for the SBC, the baggage is all mine, not the author’s.

Believing is Seeing

Like me, author Robert Jones grew up immersed in Southern Baptist culture and philosophy. Unlike me, he retains his Christian identity; his religious pronouns are still we, us, our, and ours. For this I applaud his tenacity if not his judgement. You are a better man than I, Gunga Din.

The Past

Between the years 1882 and 1968, conservative estimates put the number of African Americans lynched at 4,743. The actual number is probably much higher. Robert Jones contends that those murders weren’t just ignored or accepted by white churches, they were actually facilitated by white churches.

“…white churches served as connective tissue that brought together leaders from other social realms to coordinate a campaign of massive resistance to black equality. But at a deeper level, white churches were institutions of ultimate legitimization, where white supremacy was divinely justified via a carefully cultivated Christian theology. White Christian churches composed the cultural score that made white supremacy sing.” (pg 33)

The Present

It’s hard to pick just one example of 21st century racism committed and/or condoned by white christianity. Do I choose the assholes who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia (2017) shouting “Jews will not replace us!”? Do I choose the monster who walked into the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina (2015) and gunned down nine Black church members, including the pastor? Here’s a thought—let’s go with the quintessential example of 21st century white church racism, the 2016 presidential election:

“Trump’s own racism allowed him to do what other candidates couldn’t: solidify the support of a majority of white Christians, not despite, but through appeals to white supremacy . . . Trump’s powerful appeal to white evangelicals was not that he spoke to the culture wars around abortion or same-sex marriage, or his populist appeals to economic anxieties, but rather that he evoked powerful fears about the loss of white Christian dominance amid a rapidly changing environment.” (pg 15)

The Future

Robert P. Jones is decidedly more optimistic about America’s future than I am. He points to The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, MS and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, AL and The Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial in Duluth, MN as meccas of reflection and reconciliation. That may be true (I am ashamed to say I have not yet visited any of these places) but does it counter the likes of SBC preacher Al Mohler or evangelical talk show host Eric Metaxis or senate leader Mitch McConnell spewing covertly bigoted tripe every time I turn on the television or the radio? Don’t get me wrong, I hope the right people read this and we all come to terms with where we are and where we need to be, but I ain’t holding my breath.

“I will flatly say that the bulk of this country’s white population impresses me, and has so impressed me for a very long time, as being beyond any conceivable hope of moral rehabilitation. They have been white, if I may so put it, too long . . .” -James Baldwin, 1968

[Joe James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this 6 stars if I could. Easily the book of the year. An excellent mix of theology, history, social science, and personal anecdote. I challenge any white Christian to read this and not feel resolved toward racial justice.

[Gabriel Atchison]

When I blew into town (Buffalo) four years ago, I accidently found myself in a “circle of curmudgeon” which had masqueraded itself as a “book discussion.” I appreciated that unlike most book club meetings I had attended, these old men had actually read the book. That said, I was frustrated with the book’s content as well as the discussion. At times in the book, "The End of White Christian America", it seemed as if the author - Robert P. Jones - was lamenting the end of white, Evangelical political and cultural power in the U.S., when I felt that it was a good thing. Jones also spent too much time giving us statistics and results of public opinion polls. Despite my initial frustrations with the book, I have found myself returning to get Jones’s book again and again from my shelf, as I write about racism and white supremacy in white Protestant Christian theology and practice. I have begun to appreciate understanding more about these issues from his vantage point.

So, I was excited to read Robert Jones’s most recent book, "White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity." In White Too Long, Jones makes the compelling argument that white supremacy is embedded in the very foundation of white Christianity – which can be seen in white Christian complicity in slavery, segregation in worship practice and apathy towards black suffering. Whereas, Jones focuses primarily on the white Evangelical Church, he also points out the seeds of white supremacy in the formation of Protestant and Catholic churches. White Too Long is required reading for any group currently working on antiracism or racial reconciliation within predominately white congregations. However, I believe program coordinators should give participants enough time to work through the book slowly to absorb the information and to provide space for self-reflection. And the book study should accompany efforts to create action items for the church.

White Too Long comes from a James Baldwin quotation from a New York Times article in 1969 – “They (white Americans) have been white, as I may so put it, too long; they have been married to the lie of white supremacy too long;”. Jones defines white supremacy as the way a society organizes itself to value some people over others. He argues that the feeling of superiority is deeply ingrained within white Christian identity even though most people would not identify themselves as bigoted or hateful. During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump was able to appeal to the loss felt by white Evangelical Christians as we focus on the rights of LGBTQ+, women, racial and religious minorities and immigrants and become more racially diverse as a country. Trump’s evangelical base became solidified around “whiteness” rather than morals or religious affiliation.

White supremacy was baked into Christianity when the practice of slavery needed to coexist with Christian ethics. As a result, black inferiority became the justification for human bondage and subjugation. After the removal of federal troops from the south in 1870, southern whites unleashed a brutal and unrelenting campaign of terror to repress black equality and to preserve white supremacy. Jones demonstrates how the Southern Baptist Convention used its influence to create a “web of power” – using media, law, politicians, and religious leaders to institutionalize racial segregation in all aspects of southern life. The United Daughters of the Confederacy worked to promote Confederate culture and pass ideas of black inferiority on to the new generation. Churches were complicit in racial segregation in the housing units and schools under their authority.

Robert Jones describes a central facet of white supremacy he calls the “Lost Cause”. The military loss of the Civil War challenged the notion that white Christians were the ‘chosen ones,’ so an idea that the confederacy would rise again became central to the cause. For Jones, the Lost Cause explains much of the attachment to confederate symbols in the south. By examining the history, he explains we learn that many confederate monuments were actually built in response to gains made by African Americans in the early part of the 20th century and after the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and 60’s. The symbols are sold as a celebration of southern heritage however they stand as monuments to white grievance. The shooting at Charleston Emmanuel AME church in 2015 marked the first time that many white southerners began to consider removing these symbols from public spaces. The Lost Cause also ushered in a commitment to an individualistic idea of salvation. White Evangelicals became less concerned about justice issues with an idea that the world is in decline any way.

The strength of Robert Jones’s book is in his use of personal narrative. Jones grew up within the southern, white Evangelical Christianity he deconstructs in the book. The words of Amazing Grace, “t’was blind but now I see,” explain his process of searching deep within himself for the symbols and practices of white supremacy in his school and church life. Jones explains that the process did not take long. Once he started to look, he could find these messages in his memory. However, he describes the process of finding these memories as bringing up deep pain and shame and as a “death of a vision of the self.” A culture of protectionism often will not allow white Americans to wrestle with its history of slavery, segregation and racism.

Even though the process is uncomfortable, Robert Jones explains that the alternative limits the scope of one's moral vision. Working through painful feelings with honesty, accountability and reckoning as wholeness is the only path towards true connection with others and with God. Robert Jones makes the argument that antiracism work is the moral and imperative work of white Christians for the 21st century.

[Erin Cataldi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic. This is by no means an easy read, but a necessary one. We are long overdue on acknowledging and atoning for past (and present) transgressions against the BIPOC community. White American Christianity cultivated and fostered slavery, segregation, and fear mongering far too long to just wipe it under the rug and say "sorry." Robert P. Jones does an exemplary job describing the roots of racism in American Christianity (Catholics, Protestants, Lutherans, Episcopalians), the theology, the practice, and the monuments (I was appalled to find out how much Confederate imagery is found in Southern Churches - Robert E Lee depicted as a saint in stained glass?!). The author also scientifically and historically backs up all his claims which adds that extra gut punch. It's not all doom and gloom though. He ends by telling stories of change from around the country and then maps out ways in which white Christian Americans can move forward hand in hand with their Black brethren. It's time to come together to acknowledge, condemn, and work towards meaningful change - not just platitudes. A phenomenal book.

[Vannessa Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

White Too Long tells how some whites’ deep seated hatred for blacks is routed in religion.

White Too Long tells how whites use their churches to push discrimination and politics.

White Too Long explains how whites use Christianity as a means to support and protect dominant social and political standing of whites and believe black Christians should hold a subservient place in society and in Christian fellowship.

What I learned from reading White Too Long is White Supremacy is the White Church.

Although the entire book was interesting I especially enjoyed p. 162 Figure 5.2 Mapping Impact of Structural Injustice on Black Economic Mobility and p.165 What Role Do Racial Attitudes Play in Structuring White Christian Identity?

White Too Long is a book that should be on everyone’s to read list.

[BethK · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as a pre-release e-book obtained through NetGalley, provided by the publisher.

This book is very timely with the events of spring, 2020. It goes to show that no matter how much changes, many things are the same.

The book discusses how, when, by whom, and why the Confederate monuments were erected in the southern US – not just in public squares, but also in the churches of many Christian denominations. Some of these are being dismantled in 2020 as part of protests, to the chagrin of the white mostly-Christian, law-and-order counterprotesters and reporters, but it is mostly missed when these were erected or for what purpose. This book puts on display the unholy alliance of Christian Churches, the failed Confederacy, white supremacy, and the alt-right and neo-NAZI movements.

This book is most definitely not anti-Christian nor anti-church. The author clearly illustrates how many denominations of Christianity – from evangelicals to Catholics to mainline Protestants play in this role. The author gives no denomination a pass on their belief in racial superiority being heresy, as Al Mohler of the Southern Baptist Seminary called it. Indeed, the images of Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis along side images of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob from the Bible is a feature of this “Lost Cause theology”. It discusses how some of this is done by CHINO (Christians in Name Only), and the critical role that the way Christian churches have been historically run – and indeed decorated – serve to continue and protect white supremacy through this day.

These images and icons are not “historical markers” nor from “times gone by”. Many or most of these were erected during the 20th century, in waves marking civil rights movements.

Included too, are some details of lynchings which I had not encountered before – such as burning at the stake! Indeed, the 1899 burning of Samuel Thomas Wilkes, on flimsy evidence of any crime, carried out by a mob, was a horrendous example of this. Much of the white racial superiority is enforced by violence and the spectacle of violence, in the 17th-21st centuries.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one likes confessing their own sins, their complicity in sin or the way we have benefited from the sin of others. Its easier to distance ourselves from that past so we can tell ourselves we’re just fine here in the present.

When it comes to white Christians and race in America, this is sadly obvious. On one hand, white Christians want to argue we are not racist, that we do not think less of black persons. Yet, when we are asked to reckon with our racist past, we resist. Those white racists back then just didn’t love Jesus enough, we tell ourselves. Their racism was incidental to their faith, something added from somewhere else. We find a few good Christians who worked for abolition and emphasize them as the real Christians, and in our minds we are just like them.

But when it comes to taking down Confederate monuments, its white Christians who defend them. When the vast majority of black Christians oppose President Trump and point out his racist statements, white Christians continue to support him.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth, and its one I knew going in to reading this book but understand even more after: white Christianity is deeply entwined with racism throughout American history and continues to be so today.

Jones writes,

“A moment of reckoning is upon us, and its time that we white Christians do better, to see what is plainly in front of us and to wrestle with the unsettling implications. What if the racist views of historical ‘titans of faith’ infected the entire theological project contemporary white Christians have inherited from top to bottom? If white supremacy was an unquestionable cultural assumption in America, what does it mean that Christian doctrines by necessity had to develop in ways that were compatible with that worldview? What if, for example, Christian conceptions of marriage and family, the doctrine of biblical inerrancy, or even the concept of having a personal relationship with Jesus developed as they did because they were useful tools for reinforcing white dominance? Is it possible that the white supremacy heresy is so integrated into white Christian DNA that it eludes even sincere efforts to excise it?

White Christianity has been many things for America. But whatever else it has been - and the country is indebted to it for a good many things - it has also been the primary institution legitimizing and propagating white power and dominance. Is such a system, built and maintained not just to save souls but also to secure white supremacy, flawed beyond redemption? If we’re even going to begin to answer these questions, we need to take a deep er dive into the inner logic of white Christian theology” (70-71).

Throughout the book Jones uses research data and historical study to demonstrate that white supremacy was not incidental to American Christianity but an essential part of it. He examines the “Lost Cause” narrative and how though the south lost the civil war, the efforts of groups like the United Daughters of the Confederacy led to the lifting of monuments all over the south and the acceptance of a story where Lee, Davis, Jackson and the rest were honorable Christian men fighting for honorable reasons.

White Christians continued to see themselves as special and to see their blacks as subhuman. It was white Christians who would attend church on a Sunday, then leave church and head right over to the lynching. Of course, even white Christians today shudder in horror at this. Yet when our black Christian brothers and sisters cry out in pain at yet another police shooting, white Christians try to explain why black Christians are wrong to see this as systemic. We are horrified by the past, but most of us will vote for a president who tweets racist things, instilling fear of suburbs being invaded while celebrating white vigilantes as heroes.

Jones is not above naming names. He tells how Southern Baptist Theological Seminary was founded by leaders in the confederacy. Recently current president Albert Mohler wrote a confession and lament for this history. Yet when asked if the school would set aside some of their HUGE endowment to benefit black students, he said no. Difficult as it may be to confess past sins, its easier to confess the past then try to make changes in the present.

Jones’ mention of Eric Metaxas also jumped out. Metaxas often talks about how it was Christians who took the lead in abolition. What Metaxas does not say is that those Christians who did were in the minority, the majority of Christians endorsed slavery. Further, Christian abolitionists often were portrayed as on a slippery slope to liberalism for giving up biblical inerrancy (a point Mark Noll makes in his Civil War as a Theological Crisis). So while Metaxas points to Christian abolitionists and implies he would have been on their side, his own method of interpreting the Bible was the one used by those who supported slavery. Not recognizing this illustrates Jones’ point: white supremacy is deeply ingrained in how we read the Bible.

Even the emphasis on personal salvation is rooted in white supremacy - if Jesus’ mission was to save souls for heaven then how this world is sorted out is not part of the gospel. The whole idea Christians should “avoid politics” connects up with white supremacy because, when the political situation favors you and you have power, you probably don’t want to bring the gospel into it. If we listened to our black Christian brothers and sisters, we might find our connections to political conservatism being questioned.

Overall, this is a brilliant book. It is much needed and must be read. I’d put it alongside Jemar Tisby’s The Color of Compromise as the top of the list of books white Christians need to read to learn the past so we can confess the past and try to change the present.

[Robert Terrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very powerful. Made me reconsider many things. Calls out racism in white Christian thought while also proclaiming a message of hope.

[Sr Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read. Not an easy read, for sure. But important.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author explores the heritage of white supremacy in White Christianity in America from Jim Crow days until the present, illuminated by his personal experience having grown up in the Deep South.

The author sets forth his personal experience growing up in a predominantly White Baptist church in Jackson, Mississippi. He recounted the heritage of white supremacy in the history of the congregation in which he grew up, and set forth how "normal" the de facto segregation on Sunday morning was made to seem, the rationalization thereof based on worship style, and the presence of Southern racist heritage markers throughout the town and the high school.

The author then sets forth the distressing evidence from the research done by his Public Research Research Institute (PRRI). Whereas white Christians (Catholic/mainline Protestant/Evangelical) all testify they feel warmly toward Black and nonwhite people, on every significant issue and marker a clear delineation takes place: white Christians all align with each other on questions relating to immigration and treatment of immigrants, questions about police and the carceral state, comfort with the advancement of multiculturalism, etc., and black Protestants end up on the other side of that scale, with nonreligious Americans more aligned toward the latter more than the former. The author is able to demonstrate that such attitudes are not merely correlative: participation in White Christianity tends to lead to such conclusions. The conclusion of the matter is hard to escape: if you want to find the people who are more comfortable with white supremacy in a given town, go to a predominantly white church on a Sunday morning.

The author then does well at explaining from where this all came, exploring the theology built and developed predominantly in white Protestantism and Evangelicalism in the 19th and first half of the 20th century, how steeped it was in white supremacy, and thus focused on personal piety to the expense of any concern regarding systemic social challenges. The author spends much time exploring the prevalence of monuments to the Confederacy in the South and the Lost Cause historiological mythology they were attempting to prop up; it is interesting to see how much more movement has come in removing said monuments and recognizing their toxicity since the author wrote the book. The author tells stories of people and churches reckoning with their heritage of white supremacy and taking concrete steps toward racial justice, prominently featuring a white and a Black sister Baptist churches in Macon, GA. He concludes with exhortations toward coming to grips with the past, lamenting the heritage of white supremacy, and moving forward in repentance toward racial justice.

A deeply distressing and uncomfortable read for white Christians, but very necessary.

**--galley received as part of early review program

[Elizabeth Schroeder · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Not only in the South, but nationwide, higher levels of racism are associated with higher probabilities of identifying as a white Christian; and, conversely, adding Christianity to the average white person's identity moves him or her [sic] toward more, not less, affinity for white supremacy."

This is a horrifying, yet not surprising, statement. It also illustrates one of the reasons why I didn't give this book a higher rating. I don't know whether this was Dr. Jones' dissertation, but it reads like one. There are lot of unnecessarily long sentences interspersed with additionally and unnecessarily long quotes from other sources.

I think any white person who uses their privilege to call out racism is doing important work. As he himself writes in his book, we are WAY overdue for this reckoning. And yet -- we are light years away from an actual reckoning because of the ongoing resistance to ending white supremacy, in this case, specifically within white Christian traditions.

The second reason I didn't rate the book higher was the glaring omission in any part of his discussion of the role of gender in this power grab and hold. The leadership of white Evangelical (and most other Christian) denominations is cisgender male. Scripture has been used since it was written to keep everyone who is NOT a white, Christian man subservient. People of other genders have been complicit -- but even the idea that women are socialized in these religious traditions to "honor" their husbands and to be responsible for the men in their lives' purity and goodness, is a huge part of why white supremacy has been and continues to be the centerpiece of white Christianity. It is, because the people in power want it to be, and will go to any ends to keep it this way.

Finally, a significant point that is also missing from this book, and that is equally connected to the question of why white supremacy is at the core of white Christianity, is the most key charge of Christianity: Do. Not. Question. Do not question scripture. Do not question your (white, male) church leaders. Do not question a rule that keeps you or others subservient. Your measure as a Christian is how much you tow the line. As it says in the story of doubting Thomas: "Blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe." We are asked -- required -- to take what is told to us, what is repeated and reinforced from pulpits around the country, as truth, and there are not just social but faithful consequences for those who do not.

I would have liked a far deeper discussion of these topics, as well as more specific calls to action as opposed to the anemic ending of this book: "Reckoning with white supremacy, for us, is now an unavoidable moral choice." Not reckoning. ENDING.

[Aleana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does Christianity hold onto white supremacy or Jesus? Jones thoughtfully narrates that this is a pinnacle culture moment that demands white evangelical Christianity to declare once and for all a consistent and clear allegiance. With polyphonic voice-- historical, theological, social, ethnographical, and even autobiographical-- Jones demonstrates that white Christianity hasn't just been complicit in racist ideals and behavior, but rather that white supremacy is inherent to white Christianity in the U.S. Will we choose, as a church, to uphold or dismantle racist structures designed to include some and exclude others?

“American Christianity’s theological core has been thoroughly structured by an interest in protecting white supremacy.”

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phew. Robert Jones does an excellent job being honest and convicting without being condescending or disparaging. This book is obviously deeply personal for him, and you get a clear sense of the anguish he felt as he researched this topic. Strongly recommend this to someone who is secure in their faith, as I believe the author intends this to be a call to action rather than a damning of Christianity. I found it very eye-opening, and has given me a lot to consider.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a necessary read for every white christian - whether they’re “ready” or not. The white supremacy culture saturates the western church, and it’s far past time to reckon with the demons of our history and present.

[Stephen Eliasson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s weird when a book pulls back the veil on your upbringing.

[Sherry Sharpnack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert P. Jones has a background in theology; was raised in an über-religious home; and runs a statistical research agency. So... he has the chops to write a book calling out white American Christianity for STILL championing white supremacy 156 years after the end of the Civil War.
He carefully lays out his points and builds his reasoning until the pivotal chapter 5, in which he lays out the statistics from the research studies actually proving that white American Christian churches are RESPONSIBLE for furthering white supremacy. If you are really good at statistics, the actual research questionnaire(s) are in the appendices. It's been too long since I took statistics in pre-pharmacy, so I appreciate that he simplifies the research results in the chapter, so even statistics-naïve people can understand the results. His thesis sentence in the book's introduction says it all:
"White Christian churches have not just been complacent; they have not only been complicit; rather, as the dominant cultural power in America, they have been responsible for constructing and sustaining a project to protect white supremacy and resist black equality. This project has framed the entire American story.
...While it may see obvious to mainstream white Christians today that slavery, segregation, and overt declarations of white supremacy are antithetical to the teachings of Jesus, such a conviction is, in fact, recent and only partially conscious for most white American Christians and churches." p. 6.

The book is a devastating indictment of white American Christianity and a good history of various denominations (mostly Protestant) regarding their aiding and abetting of slavery (especially Southern Baptist, since Mr. Jones is a Southern Baptist) and segregation. The story of "good" white Christians leaving Sunday church to stop by a lynching on the way home to gather souvenirs was particularly sickening.
The church in which I grew up STILL has separate Black churches and conferences. When I ask(ed) why, I've often been told "because 'they' want it that way." Really? Says who? Isn't it time for the hypocrisy to end and the real work of racial equality to actually begin? 4.5 stars (b/c some of the statistics were still over my head) rounded up to 5.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooof, if you’re looking for a convicting read, look no further! Jones does a tremendous job demonstrating not only through personal anecdotes growing up entrenched in white Christianity as a Baptist in the South, but also through indisputable statistics (we love a good regression analysis), that white supremacy is woven into the very DNA of white Christianity here in America. For me, a particularly compelling point of his analysis was on what he called the “White Christian Shuffle” - churches acknowledging their historical complicity in perpetuating racism and white supremacy (one step forward) while avoiding personal responsibility or enacting any actual change (two steps back). I honestly can’t think of a predominantly white church I’ve attended that hasn’t been guilty of this.

This book should be required reading at all seminaries and tbh maybe for everyone? @Your mom’s all-white Bible study that’s feelin good and anti-racist by reading a Priscilla Shirer book, if you’re looking for your next buddy read maybe take this one for a spin!

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uncomfortable, alternately frustrating/overwhelming/sad, and very needed. Highly recommended for white folks, especially white Christians.

[Ben Haskett · Rating 4 out of 5]

White Too Long is a fascinating book, and not nearly as provocative as some might expect based on the title and cover. It's not salacious, it's not schlocky. No, it's a collection of articles, of documents, statistics, data, that show how white supremacists throughout American history have used and still use to this day the Bible to suit their own needs.

It's a book for anyone who has ever read anything about slavery, the Civil War, segregation, the civil rights movement, etc., and wondered where in God's name the church was during those times. And unfortunately, the answer is that they were usually right in the middle of it all, justifying everything with hand-picked passages cobbled together and twisted into something most of us would hardly recognize today. It focuses a lot on the south. Personally, I was surprised to learn that until just a few years ago, certain churches in America featured stained-glass portrayals of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and the Confederate flag on their windows.

The title of the book comes from author James Baldwin, who wrote in a 1969 op-ed:

"I will flatly say that the bulk of this country's white population impresses me, and has so impressed me for a very long time, as being beyond any conceivable hope of moral rehabilitation. They have been white, if I may so put it, too long; they have been married to the lie of white supremacy too long; the effect on their personalities, their lives, their grasp of reality, has been as devastating as the lava which so memorably immobilized the citizens of Pompeii. They are unable to conceive that their version of reality, which they want me to accept, is an insult to my history and a parody of theirs and an intolerable violation of myself."

That said, the purpose of this book isn't to rub anyone's nose in anything. And it's not at all a condemnation of Christianity, or faith, or any religion. Far from it. Rather, and simply, it's about recognizing the influence of white supremacy in American Christianity so that it can be excised piece by piece. As author Robert P. Jones puts it late in the book, "The journey toward self-realization and sanity isn't a simple one, but it begins with the act of telling a more complete, and truer story."

Nonfiction books are always much harder for me to write about than the normal pew-pew-laser sci-fi with which I spend so much of my free time, and White Too Long is no exception. I'll just say it's interesting, it's compelling, and it's a quick read at just 241 pages (followed by 65 pages of appendices and indices). It's at its worst when sharing mind-numbing statistics about how likely white evangelicals are to feel certain ways, but at its best when relying on historical accounts and memoires from important figures such as Frederick Douglass. Certain parts are brutal, but that's history for you.

It is troubling to me how easy it seems to twist the Bible around to make it say whatever one wants it to say. This book shows how pastors and church leaders and people in power have used it to not only justify things like slavery and segregation, but to show that God commands it. When people in these influential positions start telling parishioners what the Bible says, the data bears out that parishioners tend to listen. And even though The Bible is and always will just be The Bible, it seems like the definition of what it means to be a Christian can mean and has meant different things to different people throughout American history. It's not always the same thing. The author quotes this passage from theologian Eddie Glaude, Jr., that I felt was really timely:

"When Communists declare that Stalinism wasn't really communism, or when Christians and Muslims claim that the horrific things some Christians and Muslims have done in the name of their religions isn't really Christianity or Islam, what are they doing? They are protecting their ideology or the religion from the terrible things that occur in its name. They claim only the good stuff. What gets lost in all of this is that the bad stuff may very well tell us something important about communism, Christianity, or Islam—that there may be something in the ideology and in the traditions themselves that gives rise to the ugly and horrific things some people do in its name."

I think this quote looks more provocative at a glance than it actually is. What stood out to me the most was the last sentence, which seems... very applicable, in many situations. We've all seen that reaction, or maybe we've said it at one time or another, that someone who does something awful "wasn't really a true __," whatever that thing may be. Seems like what those things are can be pretty subjective.

I realize that the two biggest quotes I've shared from this book are themselves quotes from other books, but don't let that put you off this great book. It has a lot of insights, is a fascinating history lesson, and is a great source of information.

[Chandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a must-read for every white Christian. I give 5 stars only to books that change my life and this will be one. The writing is uneven. It’s a mix of personal history, institutional history, sociological facts, and current-day hope stories. But all these things work together to make a powerful reporting, whether you may choose to agree or disagree or even skip parts. As an evangelical white Christian, I was shocked to learn a lot of the history and information about how racism is so baked into white Christianity. This gives me a perspective on my fellow Christians and assumptions I may make. (that may be wrong) It makes me embarrassed and ashamed that what I’ve believed has been so far removed from the facts. I realize that I’m not a “typical” Christian who was raised in the church, etc, so it’s good to learn. The author’s personal stories of his own history were also powerful. I’ve always assumed that bc my family were immigrants, we wouldn’t have had this racist or slaveholding history. I have since looked at my genealogy (shoutout to my older sister for all the work on that) and have found ancestors from the South… who knew? It will take more digging to know what that means for me. The stories of what others are doing give some tangible examples. It’s messy but shouldn’t be avoided. I imagine this author has written this book at great personal cost and risk and I pray it has far-reaching effects for justice & equity & repentance. Recommend.

[Books Amongst Friends · Rating 5 out of 5]

Library Book/ Book Overall: 5/5
Narration/Audiobook: 4/5

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that every white person who belongs to a Christian church should take the time to read. It discusses some of what has gone on in our churches to further sustain the white supremacy.

I'll also say that it is eye opening to have finished this book when you see the confederate flag being walked around the capitol by the protesters. We definitely have a long ways to go.

[Wick Welker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A scholarly, timely and loving repudiation of white American Christianity.

White Too Long does a lot of things right. For the first half of this work, the reader gets a nice summary of American anti-black sentiment starting with slavery through modern day. Jones does a neat job of going over the pertinent details including white supremacy christian ideas that justified slavery at it's inception. We learn about reconstruction quickly swept away by Jim Crow laws and propagation of Confederate mentality and iconography. The reader gets a review that can be seen in a lot of books like White Rage by Carol Anderson or the Color of Law by Rothstein. Jones makes something very clear: Confederate flag and statues have absolutely nothing to do with southern pride or remembering history and everything to do with white supremacy. The propagation of these public icons happened well after the civil war and into the Jim Crow era. Jones holds particular clout as a writer, being a southern born white christian who I believe still maintains his faith.

Jones presents some very startling research in this book. He presents fairly convincing data (although I did not scrutinize the data myself yet, but it can be found at the back of the book) that white supremacy and racial resentment toward black Americans is not just correlative with white Christianity. In fact, there is a 20% causative effect of racist views with white mainline protestant and catholic Americans. This causation went up even more for white christian who attended church frequently. We learn, that going to church does little to mitigate racism but, in fact, enhances it. Being non-religious showed the opposite effect. Jones asserts that white Christianity has been a protective vehicle of white supremacy that manufactures the ideology, not just harboring it. The great irony is that white Christians typically believe themselves to be sympathetic to black Americas, yet this sympathy falls apart upon even cursory interrogation of their views.

The backdrop to all this criticism of white Christianity is an author who has gone through his own journey through white supremacy and Christianity. At the end of this book, we find a loving attitude toward all christian people. Jones give several heart touching examples of black and white communities become more knit together through cross-cultural community activity. As a white (liberal) christian myself, I was touched by Jones' attitude of understanding and healing that he offers as solutions. I found this to be an unexpected touching ending that gives me hope looking forward for not only black Americans, but white Christians whose history continues to hold them back from living the very teachings that they espouse. I especially touched by Jones' flipping of the narrative of the curse of Cain, it was really compelling. I would've loved a little more insight about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormon church) as there is huge cross-over with that church and white mainline protestant. Mormonism is glaringly absent from this work.

Excellent read, especially for white Christians.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Puts together good evidence of continuing racial prejudice in America long after it was supposedly “ended” (say what?) in the 1960s; pointing out that a substantial part of the MAGA base are John Birch Society type whites-only voters.

[britt_brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Researcher Robert P Jones, who specializes in religion and culture, lays out the role white supremacy has played and sustained in American Christianity. This book meanders a bit, but is a pretty eye-opening history leading up to present day. So many despicable acts have been justified in the name of god. It’s sick and it’s sad. We have to continue to do better.

[ReadBecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is just such a crucial read with regard to understanding how much american society has been driven by those in power, who have also predominantly been white and religious. They've shaped the interpretation of Christian theology, a bit hopelessly that fed back into enabling & justifying white supremacy in both the church and American society. For obvious reasons the focus is heavily southern Evangelical, but the author does talk about a range beyond that, the time focus is primarily around the civil war and post civil war movements, but also extends to some modern events (a significant section analyzing Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof, for instance). The book is full of both horrifying and unsurprising explanations of how much the church has been complicit, for example the heartbreaking realization of a modern church digging into their records to find their building was likely funded by the sale of slaves and built by slave labor, who were themselves likely attendants of the church with their masters at the time. Jones also wonderfully confronts the history of those within the faith speaking up, only to be silenced, as well as the "shuffle" performed where even when the church admits wrongdoing in this area, they repeatedly function as if repentance absolves accountability or correction - as a result the picture painted here is one of deep rooted injustice, yet the author remains a hopeful southern religious person, seeing through self analysis the church can enact justice and healing.