From Monoracial to Multiracial Biblical Studies

Abstract

The discourse around race and ethnicity in biblical studies has grown exponentially in recent years. Yet there is a curious lack of attention to whiteness. The field of biblical studies in the United States and Europe is profoundly monoracial, and one of the ways this whiteness operates is through traditional methods of biblical scholarship. This chapter proposes that critical race theory and whiteness studies are useful aids in rendering whiteness visible in the field. New sources are foregrounded to rethink the normative Eurocentricity of biblical studies. Decentring whiteness does not mean eliminating Eurocentric sources entirely; it entails particularizing whiteness and examining its effects. Through contextual awareness, biblical studies can move from being monoracial to becoming multiracial.