Thanks for this. I've been asking similar questions about my upbringing in Britain as the son of an Anglican minister. I remember as a child singing hymns like Onward Christian Soldiers and I Vow To Thee, My Country - this was in our daily religious assembly AT SCHOOL! I didn't think anything of it at the time. I now live in the US where there is (supposedly) separation of church and state, though there is obviously much cause for concern on this side of the pond too!
The British / US contrast (or... parallels!) are interesting! I think of Britain as being more secular... but there is no technical separation of church and state? (I guess that's why the Founding Fathers here wanted to make the crystal clear... though it doesn't seem so crystal clear to modern folks!)
Yes, Britain is certainly more secular - very few people attend church or consider themselves religious. But the monarch is also the head of the Church of England, ever since Henry VIII.
Christine, congratulations, you did it! You have brilliantly started deconstructing the white power structure that brought us colonization, rapacious industrial capitalism, racism and systemic injustice, and the supporting role of white religion in all of it. Religion justifies horrible iniquity and inequity by calling it the will of god--"we" hold all the power and wealth and social status because the fact that "we" have them shows we are blessed, and being blessed is the sign that "we" deserve the blessings. Talk about sick circular reasoning!! Surely it couldn't really be that white elites stole their blessings from other races and cultures and from the workers who make the products that make them rich!
But as Heather McGhee explains in The Sum of Us, whiteness always backfires on white people and ironically harms many of them too. When you defund college subsidies because (horror of horrors), people of color might get an education and advance in society, the exorbitant tuition you charge not only bars non-wealthy people of color from college but non-wealthy whites also. When your Christian church beliefs traumatize and shame people of color by exclusion, your rigid distorted beliefs also traumatize and shame your own children. When you suppress wages of people of color to create a permanent under class that will always be forced to work cheap, you also force low wages on many white people. Ultimately, though, those who are part of the white male elite power structure don't care whom they harm as long as they can amass wealth, privilege, and comfort and look the other way at the harm they inflict because, well, god says "we" deserve it--and "they" don't.
The ultimate question is what to do about it? How can a deconstructed society be rebuilt to make it more egalitarian, more life-affirming for all participants? And to bring us back to the main subject of your publication, how can religion be reimagined to make love of god and our neighbors real and heal the traumas religion has caused? I hope for (and am pretty sure there will be) future posts offering your thoughts about how we can do this. (I'll collect my payment for this perfect setup later--LOL!)
Anyway, GREAT post, and sorry for my many words. I can't help myself--your ideas get me all riled up! :-)
*drops the mic* Thank you for your many words :) Circular reasoning about why "we" are the best and most blessed, indeed! That Heather McGhee book looks really interesting (I just went to go look it up). Too many books on the to-read list!!!
Thanks for pointing back to the underlying hope beneath the publication - that it CAN be different, that healing IS possible, and that we deconstruct all of these things to create something that is more life-giving!
Thanks, Christine! I’m so grateful for you in this rural Ohio environment we share. I wish you could have been at the Black Lives Matter march and community meal that day in June 2020! The turnout was heartwarming and far beyond expectations, with a sense of joy mixed with the anger and outrage about continuing injustices. You would have appreciated it! ❤️
Thank you, Barb! I was there at that march! It's where I first discovered that Jubilee existed, which was a most excellent discovery. I was really glad to be part of that day!
I love every bit of this. And trust me, losing readers because you talk about racism IS 100% WORTH IT. ❤️❤️❤️
I'm sure you know this by experience! Thanks for helping share the post! :)
I doooooooo and you’re welcome!
Thanks for this. I've been asking similar questions about my upbringing in Britain as the son of an Anglican minister. I remember as a child singing hymns like Onward Christian Soldiers and I Vow To Thee, My Country - this was in our daily religious assembly AT SCHOOL! I didn't think anything of it at the time. I now live in the US where there is (supposedly) separation of church and state, though there is obviously much cause for concern on this side of the pond too!
The British / US contrast (or... parallels!) are interesting! I think of Britain as being more secular... but there is no technical separation of church and state? (I guess that's why the Founding Fathers here wanted to make the crystal clear... though it doesn't seem so crystal clear to modern folks!)
Yes, Britain is certainly more secular - very few people attend church or consider themselves religious. But the monarch is also the head of the Church of England, ever since Henry VIII.
This has been an excellent series! Thank you so much for all the work you put into this.
Thank you, Kandi!! :)
Christine, congratulations, you did it! You have brilliantly started deconstructing the white power structure that brought us colonization, rapacious industrial capitalism, racism and systemic injustice, and the supporting role of white religion in all of it. Religion justifies horrible iniquity and inequity by calling it the will of god--"we" hold all the power and wealth and social status because the fact that "we" have them shows we are blessed, and being blessed is the sign that "we" deserve the blessings. Talk about sick circular reasoning!! Surely it couldn't really be that white elites stole their blessings from other races and cultures and from the workers who make the products that make them rich!
But as Heather McGhee explains in The Sum of Us, whiteness always backfires on white people and ironically harms many of them too. When you defund college subsidies because (horror of horrors), people of color might get an education and advance in society, the exorbitant tuition you charge not only bars non-wealthy people of color from college but non-wealthy whites also. When your Christian church beliefs traumatize and shame people of color by exclusion, your rigid distorted beliefs also traumatize and shame your own children. When you suppress wages of people of color to create a permanent under class that will always be forced to work cheap, you also force low wages on many white people. Ultimately, though, those who are part of the white male elite power structure don't care whom they harm as long as they can amass wealth, privilege, and comfort and look the other way at the harm they inflict because, well, god says "we" deserve it--and "they" don't.
The ultimate question is what to do about it? How can a deconstructed society be rebuilt to make it more egalitarian, more life-affirming for all participants? And to bring us back to the main subject of your publication, how can religion be reimagined to make love of god and our neighbors real and heal the traumas religion has caused? I hope for (and am pretty sure there will be) future posts offering your thoughts about how we can do this. (I'll collect my payment for this perfect setup later--LOL!)
Anyway, GREAT post, and sorry for my many words. I can't help myself--your ideas get me all riled up! :-)
*drops the mic* Thank you for your many words :) Circular reasoning about why "we" are the best and most blessed, indeed! That Heather McGhee book looks really interesting (I just went to go look it up). Too many books on the to-read list!!!
Thanks for pointing back to the underlying hope beneath the publication - that it CAN be different, that healing IS possible, and that we deconstruct all of these things to create something that is more life-giving!
Thanks, Christine! I’m so grateful for you in this rural Ohio environment we share. I wish you could have been at the Black Lives Matter march and community meal that day in June 2020! The turnout was heartwarming and far beyond expectations, with a sense of joy mixed with the anger and outrage about continuing injustices. You would have appreciated it! ❤️
Thank you, Barb! I was there at that march! It's where I first discovered that Jubilee existed, which was a most excellent discovery. I was really glad to be part of that day!
I’m here for all of it! 👏🏽
Not losing me!
I wish that I had emphasized the last two verses of Amos 5 even more strongly than I did, last year when I taught OT in Sunday School.
Maybe you'll get a second chance down the road!
Love that Chris Hedges quote. Whiteness is slippery & I always describe it poorly.
He's a straight shooter! "Slippery," yes I agree!
Oh, I misunderstood and thought you weren't at the march! I'm glad you were there!