The Myth of Colorblind Christians : Evangelicals and White Supremacy in the Civil Rights Era

**Reveals how Christian colorblindness expanded white evangelicalism and excluded Black evangelicals** In the decades after the civil rights movement, white Americans turned to an ideology of colorblindness. Personal kindness, not systemic reform, seemed to be the way to solve racial problems. In those same decades, a religious movement known as evangelicalism captured the nation’s attention and became a powerful political force. These two stories are deeply connected. In __The Myth of Colorblind Christians__, Jesse Curtis shows how white evangelicals’ efforts to grow their own institutions created an evangelical form of whiteness and infused the politics of colorblindness with sacred fervor. A church sanctuary, not a Republican Party meeting, proved to be the most influential site of evangelical activism in the second half of the twentieth century. Christian colorblindness powered the evangelical coalition to new heights of influence even as it kept Black evangelicals on the outside looking in. While Black evangelicals used the rhetoric of Christian unity to challenge racism, white evangelicals used the same language to urge their Black counterparts to stop demanding racial reforms, arguing that all were equal under Christ and Christians should not talk about race. Christian colorblindness not only sidestepped the need to dismantle the American religio-racial hierarchy, but became a primary defense for it, as white evangelicals portrayed movements for racial justice as threats to Christian unity. The push toward Christian colorblindness transformed American evangelicalism and the nation. Curtis argues that white evangelicals deployed Christian colorblindness not for antiracist purposes, but rather to protect new investments in whiteness. In the process, they anchored their own identities and shaped the very meaning of whiteness in American society. At once compelling and timely, __The Myth of Colorblind Christians__ exposes how white evangelical communities avoided antiracist action and yet continue to thrive today. "In the decades after the civil rights movement, white Americans turned to an ideology of colorblindness. Personal kindness, not systemic reform, seemed to be the way to solve racial problems. In those same decades, a religious movement known as evangelicalism captured the nation's attention and became a powerful political force. In The Myth of Colorblind Christians, Jesse Curtis shows how white evangelicals' efforts to grow their own institutions created an evangelical form of whiteness, infusing the politics of colorblindness with sacred fervor. Curtis argues that white evangelicals deployed a Christian brand of colorblindness to protect new investments in whiteness. While black evangelicals used the rhetoric of Christian unity to challenge racism, white evangelicals repurposed this language to silence their black counterparts and retain power, arguing that all were equal in Christ and that Christians should not talk about race.As white evangelicals portrayed movements for racial justice as threats to Christian unity and presented their own racial commitments as fidelity to the gospel, they made Christian colorblindness into a key pillar of America's religio-racial hierarchy. In the process, they anchored their own identities and shaped the very meaning of whiteness in American society. At once compelling and timely, The Myth of Colorblind Christians exposes how white evangelical communities avoided antiracist action and continue to thrive today.This book explores the history of Black and white evangelical encounters in the second half of the twentieth century and shows how white evangelicals used Christian colorblindness, a theology of race emphasizing unity in Christ, to adapt to the civil rights movement while creating an evangelical form of whiteness"-- Provided by publisher Reveals how Christian colorblindness expanded white evangelicalism and excluded Black evangelicals In the decades after the civil rights movement, white Americans turned to an ideology of colorblindness. Personal kindness, not systemic reform, seemed to be the way to solve racial problems. In those same decades, a religious movement known as evangelicalism captured the nation's attention and became a powerful political force. In The Myth of Colorblind Christians , Jesse Curtis shows how white evangelicals' efforts to grow their own institutions created an evangelical form of whiteness, infusing the politics of colorblindness with sacred fervor. Curtis argues that white evangelicals deployed a Christian brand of colorblindness to protect new investments in whiteness. While black evangelicals used the rhetoric of Christian unity to challenge racism, white evangelicals repurposed this language to silence their black counterparts and retain power, arguing that all were equal in Christ and that Christians should not talk about race. As white evangelicals portrayed movements for racial justice as threats to Christian unity and presented their own racial commitments as fidelity to the gospel, they made Christian colorblindness into a key pillar of America's religio-racial hierarchy. In the process, they anchored their own identities and shaped the very meaning of whiteness in American society. At once compelling and timely, The Myth of Colorblind Christians exposes how white evangelical communities avoided antiracist action and continue to thrive today. In the decades after the civil rights movement, white Americans turned to an ideology of colorblindness. Personal kindness, not systemic reform, seemed to be the way to solve racial problems. In those same decades, a religious movement known as evangelicalism captured the nation's attention and became a powerful political force. In The Myth of Colorblind Christians, Jesse Curtis shows how white evangelicals' efforts to grow their own institutions created an evangelical form of whiteness, infusing the politics of colorblindness with sacred fervor.0Curtis argues that white evangelicals deployed a Christian brand of colorblindness to protect new investments in whiteness. While black evangelicals used the rhetoric of Christian unity to challenge racism, white evangelicals repurposed this language to silence their black counterparts and retain power, arguing that all were equal in Christ and that Christians should not talk about race.0As white evangelicals portrayed movements for racial justice as threats to Christian unity and presented their own racial commitments as fidelity to the gospel, they made Christian colorblindness into a key pillar of America's religio-racial hierarchy. In the process, they anchored their own identities and shaped the very meaning of whiteness in American society. At once compelling and timely, The Myth of Colorblind Christians exposes how white evangelical communities avoided antiracist action and continue to thrive today Uncovers the hidden roots of white evangelicalism's contemporary racial crisis. The Myth of Colorblind Christians reveals the little-known story of black and white evangelical encounters that brought us to our age of divisive politics and splintering churches. Amid the upheavals of the civil rights movement, black evangelicals insisted there must be no color line in the body of Christ. In an effort to preserve the credibility of their movement, white evangelicals discarded theologies of white supremacy and embraced a new theology of Christian colorblindness. But instead of using this colorblind theology for anti-racist purposes, white evangelicals spent decades investing in whiteness in the name of spreading the gospel. White evangelicals' turn to a theology of colorblindness enabled them to create an evangelical brand of whiteness that claimed the center of evangelicalism and shaped the politics of race throughout American life. Christian colorblindness became a key marker of evangelical identity and infused the politics of colorblindness with sacred fervor. Historically nuanced and as urgent as today's headlines, The Myth of Colorblind Christians is a book that will change what you thought you knew about evangelicals and race. Contents Introduction 1. What Does It Mean to Be One in Christ? The Civil Rights Movement and the Origins of Christian Colorblindness 2. Creating the Colorblind Campus 3. Growing the Homogeneous Church 4. A Mission Field Next Door 5. Two Gospels on a Global Stage 6. The Elusive Turning Point: Colorblind Christians and “Racial Reconciliation” Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index About the Author