Critical Whiteness Theories and the Evangelical “Race Problem”: Extending Emerson and Smith's Divided by Faith

Abstract

In their 2000 book, Divided by Faith, Michael Emerson and Christian Smith use the case of evangelical Christians to demonstrate how uncompromising individualist ideals get in the way of clear thinking and decisive action about racial inequalities in contemporary American society. We use insights developed from whiteness studies and critical race theory to sharpen and further extend this analysis. More specifically, we suggest: (1) that anti-black stereotypes may be subtler, more pervasive, and more functionally necessary than Emerson and Smith assume; and (2) that the individualistic ideals Emerson and Smith focus on are not race neutral but, instead, are part of a taken-for-granted and vigorously defended majority white culture and identity. These points are developed through a theoretical reconstruction of Emerson and Smith's argument and a reevaluation of their methodological approach and data. Finally, we present data from a recent national survey of race and religion in American life that provide preliminary quantitative support for our revisionist claims.Among the scholarly works that have appeared in recent years analyzing the racial attitudes and practices of evangelical Christians (has been as influential as Michael Emerson and Christian Smith's Divided by Faith (2000). The study is impressive on a number of fronts-in its careful, systematic data analysis; the clarity of its writing and presentation; and the quality of the (original) data on which the entire project is based. But what really gives Divided by Faith pride of place in its field, at least in our view, is the broader social and sociological significance Emerson and Smith claim for evangelicals, namely, that the expressed attitudes and ideals of evangelical Christians-especially those involving the tension between their ideological commitment to justice and equality, on the one hand, and their individualist ideals, on the other-approximate and highlight key dimensions of mainstream American racial discourse and latent values. A full understanding of the evangelical race problem, according to Emerson and Smith, thus amounts to nothing less than a better comprehension of the American race problem itself (see Emerson and Smith 2000;1-3).We think Emerson and Smith are absolutely correct about the claim that a thorough understanding of evangelical racial attitudes can reveal a great deal about mainstream American attitudes and understandings of race and racial justice. We also think that in focusing on the tensions within evangelical discourse, Emerson and Smith have opened the way to a much broader and more profound critique of the "race problem" in America, one that locates the problems of race squarely within conventional liberal democratic discourse.Here it is important to clarify how Emerson and Smith understand white evangelicals as both representative of and different from other whites and the dominant American racial discourse. It would be easy to assume that white evangelicals hold views on race that lean toward those of

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“…This white racial identity is reflected in the tendency for white Americans to: (1) maintain disproportionate control within all institutions; (2) set the cultural norms within these institutions to which all other cultures are expected to adjust; and (3) as a corollary to the first two tendencies, live largely unaware of their racial identity and consequently fail to see how being white privileges them (Edwards 2008;Hartmann et al 2009;Tranby and Hartmann 2008).…”

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“…However, their conclusions have not been universally echoed in other social science research [49,51,52]. This study and recent work by Taylor and Merino [55,56] indicate the need for important qualification to claims about the influence of religion on racial attitudes.…”

“…Emerson and Smith's research has sparked a new debate about whether white evangelical Protestants' racial attitudes differ significantly from those of other whites [49,[51][52][53][54]. Evidence for the distinctiveness of evangelical Protestants' attitudes is mixed, however, and these studies have varied widely in their methodological approaches to the question.…”

“…Drawing on over twenty years of GSS data, Putnam and Campbell suggest that white evangelicals' racial attitudes have become less distinctive over time [29]. Tranby and Hartmann [49] offer an alternative view. As others have argued [50], they insist that conservative views of racial inequality and racial policy are not easily disentangled from racial resentment and anti-black bias.…”

“…Based on a reading of Emerson and Smith's interviews with evangelicals, the authors argue that evangelical Protestants routinely engage in groupbased negative stereotyping to explain racial inequality. Furthermore, because the norms and values that form evangelicals' idea of -American-ness‖ are implicitly white, they come to see demands for increased recognition of and assistance for minority groups as a threat [49].…”