How interactions of race and religion have influenced unity and division in the church At the center of the story of American Christianity lies an integral connection between race relations and C
How interactions of race and religion have influenced unity and division in the church
At the center of the story of American Christianity lies an integral connection between race relations and Christian unity. Despite claims that Jesus Christ transcends all racial barriers, the most segregated hour in America is still Sunday mornings when Christians gather for worship.
In Slavery’s Long Shadow fourteen historians and other scholars examine how the sobering historical realities of race relations and Christianity have created both unity and division within American churches from the 1790s into the twenty-first century. The book’s three sections offer readers three different entry points into the conversation: major historical periods, case studies, and ways forward. Historians as well as Christians interested in racial reconciliation will find in this book both help for understanding the problem and hope for building a better future.
Contributors:
Tanya Smith Brice
Joel A. Brown
Lawrence A. Q. Burnley
Jeff W. Childers
Wes Crawford
James L. Gorman
Richard T. Hughes
Loretta Hunnicutt
Christopher R. Hutson
Kathy Pulley
Edward J. Robinson
Kamilah Hall Sharp
Jerry Taylor
D. Newell Williams
Heath Carter
—Valparaiso University
“This powerful and timely book sheds light on the past, present, and future of slavery’s long shadow. Brimming with historical insight, prophetic criticism, and hopeful resolve, the essays collected here demand to be read by anyone interested in the long and tangled relationship of Christianity and race in American life.”
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James L. Gorman is associate professor of history at Johnson University in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Jeff W. Childers is Carmichael- Walling Chair of New Testament and Early Christianity at Abilene Christian University.
Mark W. Hamilton is Robert and Kay Onstead Professor of Biblical Studies at Abilene Christian University.
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