Heathen: Religion and Race in American History

by Kathryn Gin Lum

An innovative history that shows how the religious idea of the heathen in need of salvation undergirds American conceptions of race.

If an eighteenth-century parson told you that the difference between “civilization and heathenism is sky-high and star-far,” the words would hardly come as a shock. But that statement was written by an American missionary in 1971. In a sweeping historical narrative, Kathryn Gin Lum shows how the idea of the heathen has been maintained from the colonial era to the present in religious and secular discourses―discourses, specifically, of race.

Americans long viewed the world as a realm of suffering heathens whose lands and lives needed their intervention to flourish. The term “heathen” fell out of common use by the early 1900s, leading some to imagine that racial categories had replaced religious differences. But the ideas underlying the figure of the heathen did not disappear. Americans still treat large swaths of the world as “other” due to their assumed need for conversion to American ways. Purported heathens have also contributed to the ongoing significance of the concept, promoting solidarity through their opposition to white American Christianity. Gin Lum looks to figures like Chinese American activist Wong Chin Foo and Ihanktonwan Dakota writer Zitkála-Šá, who proudly claimed the label of “heathen” for themselves.

Race continues to operate as a heathen inheritance in the United States, animating Americans’ sense of being a world apart from an undifferentiated mass of needy, suffering peoples. Heathen thus reveals a key source of American exceptionalism and a prism through which Americans have defined themselves as a progressive and humanitarian nation even as supposed heathens have drawn on the same to counter this national myth.

Genres: History, Religion, American History, Race, Nonfiction, Christianity, Sociology

368 pages, Hardcover

First published May 17, 2022

Reviews

[Karis · Rating 5 out of 5]

third time is the charm

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid work by a strong historian. There is a lot to praise this work for as an exercise in intersecting religion,race,and history into a meaningful discussion. She really dug into the way that the concept of heathenism evolved into a strong piece of language that was used to disenfranchise people who though came from non-white backgrounds. Her section on Chinese immigration was really fascinating when evaluating the way whites navigated the issue. Strong work and my on!y critique KS her handling of theological exclusivism which is not necessarily racial in motivation.

[‎‧₊˚n o e l l e˚₊‧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

yeah it was dry, academic reading but i learned so much about the origin of the simultaneously patronizing/disdainful white christian perspective

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

there’s a lot of great research in this book, and KGL attempts a beast of a project with this longue duree project on the discursive term “heathen.” i think in many ways this is a helpful work toward understanding the relationship between race, religion (christianity, in particular), and the colonial projects of the west.

that being said, the danger of a longue duree such as this is the way it creates crucial gaps in the story, and i think this one has a few flaws in particular that hurt it. most importantly, the gaze of this book was so solidly christian that we rarely get any deep analysis of any other religious tradition and how they interacted in these moments. if christians were critiquing indigenous americans’ religion and that encounter is important to the story, shouldn’t we know a little about the indigenous religion that takes place in the interaction? instead, KGL’s figuration of power views christianity with such weight that no “heathen” religion seems to get any real attention.

the end of the book—the last chapter, the epilogue, and the postscript— all seem to attempt a political vision, but i felt that political vision was either underdeveloped or just didn’t fit. and i think, to some degree, this is another challenge of a longue duree history with a pointed political motivation at the end. how can you write for 250 pages about a long history of oppression and then try and leave your single reader with the motivation to go change something? i’m not saying this is impossible, but it seems incredibly difficult, and i’m not sure this book sticks that particular landing.

despite these critiques, i think this book logs and important story and should be read widely. i would give this book to both academics and non academics alike just for the ground it covers and how it does so in a coherent and accessible way.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, this is an excellent book! It is an academic book, and as such, it may not be for everyone. Kathryn Gin Lum writes well. Her prose is concise. The academic aspect can be found in the details of the history. I am using aspects of her book in the religion course that I teach.

Gin Lum shows how American Protestantism categorized non-Protestants, even including Catholics at certain points in early America, as heathens. However, heathen was primarily used to refer to Native Americans, African Americans, Asian immigrants, and non-Christians to whom American Protestant missionaries had been sent. This would include native Hawaiians.

The category, heathen, served many purposes. For example, the "heathen" were supposedly unable to properly care for their land and make it productive; therefore, rendering heathen land available for conquest and occupation by a more industrious Christian population. Heathens were also bad parents, allowing Christians to take children away to properly educate them. Heathens could not truly care for themselves; they needed a white savior to direct them towards civilization.

The term, heathen, easily elides into race, as the heathen were typically non-white people. The inadequate qualities of the heathen were (and are) applied racially.

I gave the book 4/5 stars, because I believe that her argument would have been vastly improved with one in-depth chapter on secular literature that demonstrated how race and heathen were interlinked. She concentrates on Protestantism, while also claiming that her results are larger than Protestantism. I think that she is correct, but it could be better demonstrated.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

To have "ethnicity" meant to be partial, incomplete, confined to one part of the world, and stagnant. Ethnic or heathen religions could not hope to gain adherents beyond a regionally and racially specific nation group; the main reason to study them was to see how they helped to prepare people for Christianity, the only truly universal religion. Such preparation could take the form of proto-truths taught by proto-prophets, but all would eventually and inevitably lead to and be superseded by the raceless, regionless religion of pure Christianity.

[readee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have liked to see more of what “everyday” Protestants thought of “Heathens.” Sermons, etc.
Also—categorization of “White Protestant Americans” at odds with everyone else, including Catholics and Mormons felt like an oversimplification. Did Catholics and Mormons identify with “Heathens” since they were classified as “Heathen” by Protestants?
Didn’t read last few chapters super thoroughly re: Doctor’s Without Borders.

[Jessica Zu · Rating 5 out of 5]

only read the recommended chapters. already hooked. will read the whole book.

[Maxwell]

Did not finish. (Abandoned in track 9, 32:29 of the audiobook.) The book itself is well-written. However, it was just too lengthy for my continued interest.

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

an extremely important and solid historical work!! Will definitely be cited in future papers. Expectations were perhaps a bit too high — but a great book on the subject

[Tim Lacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. I can recommend this, without reservations, to anyone interested in the history of Christianity, Christian theology, American pluralism, and U.S. history.