White Evangelical Racism by Anthea Butler

I had these experiences, I understand the movement, I understand the people in it.

You might have seen or heard her in the New York Times, Washington Post, and cable news networks, and I'm so glad she's here at Fireside, because her research offers a cautionary tale for all kinds of Christian traditions, including my own, who are grappling with racism.ĪNTHEA BUTLER: I was an Evangelical once. She's department chair of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania and a prominent public intellectual.

Today we're talking about the book White Evangelical Racism by Dr. Welcome back to Fireside with Blair Hodges. Even though she left Evangelicalism herself, she's still got a few sermons to preach. And she's not a disinterested observer, either. It's hurt them if we're looking at, you know, in terms of the moral status that they want to have.īLAIR HODGES: As church attendance shrinks and public confidence and respect of religious people dwindles, Butler sees a moment of reckoning for American Christianity. And and she says that cost is rising fast.ĪNTHEA BUTLER: Yeah, it's hurt them if we're looking at numbers. But Butler says all their successes have come at significant cost. In her latest book White Evangelical Racism she tells the history of the rise of the Religious Right in America-Christians who are politically conservative, predominantly white, and Republican.ĪNTHEA BUTLER: Evangelicals pairing with Republicans is really important, because on state and local and national levels, they've been able to achieve a lot.īLAIR HODGES: They've helped presidents get elected, they've impacted public policy on things like abortion and gay rights. The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, by Nikole Hannah-Jones.ĪNTHEA BUTLER: And so when we talk about this, we cannot get away from the fact that theology plays a role in racism.īLAIR HODGES: Anthea Butler is a top expert on religion, politics, and race in the United States. How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America, by Clint Smith.

White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America, by Anthea Butler. Her work as a public intellectual has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and many other media outlets. Anthea Butler is department chair of Religious Studies and professor of religion at the University of Pennsylvania, and the author of White Evangelical Racism.

White Evangelical Racism by Anthea Butler