Episode 141: White Evangelical Racism

The last time Dr. Anthea Butler stepped to the front of the class, she discussed the separation of church and state on The Political Church episode with L. Joy. Now she is back to give us the -straight no chaser- history and context of the White Evangelical movement and a preview of her new book White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America.

Our Guest

Dr. Anthea Butler is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. A sought-after commentator on the BBC, MSNBC, CNN, The History Channel and PBS, Professor Butler regularly writes opinion pieces covering religion, race, politics and popular culture for NBC Think, Religion News Service, The Washington Post, and CNN.

Dr. Butler was awarded a Luce/ACLS Fellowship for the Religion, Journalism and International Affairs grant for 2018-2019 academic year to investigate Prosperity gospel and politics in the American and Nigerian context. She was also a Presidential fellow at Yale Divinity School for the 2019-2020 academic year.

She currently serves as President Elect of the American Society for Church history, and is also member of the American Academy of Religion, American Historical Association, and the International Communications Association.

An accomplished author, Dr. Butler’s book Women in the Church of God in Christ: Making A Sanctified World, was published by The University of North Carolina Press, and her current projects are two books are for UNC Press, White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America, out in March 2021, and Reading Race: How Publishing created a lifeline for Black Baptists in Post Reconstruction America.