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

This is the worst kept, dirty little secret of American Christianity. Literally everyone recognizes it, yet most have swept it under the rug. I applaud the authors willingness to look at some ugly truths, and work to make real change. He is unfortunately, not willing to fully recognize that everything he lays out in gruesome detail, is not at all a corruption of religion, but is in fact, at the core of it. He cant quite take that last step of reason, to reject the irrationality of the enterprise itself, and recognize that morality exists beyond, and distinctly outside of, religion. Virtually nothing presented here is new, for those who care to know our history. For me, learning the extent of the odious Lost Cause myth-making by the United Daughters of the Confederacy was eye-opening, but the hypocrisy of churchgoers was entirely in line with my experience. Similarly the data supporting the greater acceptance and tolerance by White Unaffiliated, otherwise known as Secular Humanists, is also true in my experience. Moreover, the author clearly demonstrates with solid statistical models that racism is directly proportional to white Christian identity (and even more with the frequency of churchgoing by evangelicals). Christopher Hitchens famously wrote that religion poisons everything. Here is the evidence. Simply, churchgoers may be genuinely nice, gentle folk, but when it comes to a commitment to racial equality, even if they talk the talk (which they only rarely do), they virtually never walk the walk. The book is focused primarily on the ugly racial history of white churches with African-Americans. But it just as easily could cover the genocide of native peoples in the Americas, and the treatment of people other religions, regardless if they are citizens of multiple generations or recent immigrants, Everyone should read/listen to this book, but Christians in particular. As someone with childhood history in Methodist and Presbyterian churches, I can guarantee that those congregations will absolutely recognize the truth of this book, if theyre being honest. It\’s true, that they have been, as the James Baldwin quotation which titles this book states, been white too long.

I have often thought that evangelicals hide behind religion to disavow racism. This book certainly examines the deep roots of racism in religion. All white Christians should read and reflect.

this was an intelligent, highly well-written, thought-provoking examination of white supremacy in the Christian church. I found it to be both informative and revelatory!

This book is a must read to begin to understand and digest what white supremacy has done to us all. The author, who is a white Christian, is honest, thought provoking and factual in his discovery of his faith\’s role in the opression of fellow humans and the gradual errosion of the white soul as it tries to justify it. Very appropriate in 2020. Important to note, this book uses reliable data from research, historical facts and anecdotes to illustrate its content. I recommend to anyone who really wants to understand how we have gotten here and what we might do to begin to heal.

I happened upon this title after hearing an NPR \”Fresh Air\” promo about it. Listening to the 3-minute audio book sample convinced me to buy the book. The author begins by sharing his own experiences with religion, education, American history, and race. Next, he provides examples of how race, white supremacy, and religious doctrine are connected and interwoven in America\’s founding; and current culture. Thank You Mr. Jones! \”Four and a half stars!!!\” (I took off a half star because I got lost in some of the technical jargon.)

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