Thursday, October 22, 2020

New Book: White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America by Dr. Anthea Butler (March 22, 2021)

 The American political scene today is poisonously divided, and the vast majority of white evangelicals plays a strikingly unified, powerful role in the disunion. These evangelicals raise a starkly consequential question for electoral politics: Why do they claim morality while supporting politicians who act immorally by most Christian measures? In this clear-eyed, hard-hitting chronicle of American religion and politics, Anthea Butler answers that racism is at the core of conservative evangelical activism and power.

Butler reveals how evangelical racism, propelled by the benefits of whiteness, has since the nation's founding played a provocative role in severely fracturing the electorate. During the buildup to the Civil War, white evangelicals used scripture to defend slavery and nurture the Confederacy. During Reconstruction, they used it to deny the vote to newly emancipated blacks. In the twentieth century, they sided with segregationists in avidly opposing movements for racial equality and civil rights. Most recently, evangelicals supported the Tea Party, a Muslim ban, and border policies allowing family separation. White evangelicals today, cloaked in a vision of Christian patriarchy and nationhood, form a staunch voting bloc in support of white leadership. Evangelicalism's racial history festers, splits America, and needs a reckoning now.

From UNC Press

"Every so often a book comes along that distills essential truths so crisply, so powerfully, that it feels not just valuable but vital--alive with the clear, brilliant, and even thrilling thinking we need like we need water and air. Anthea Butler writes with force and grace of what is, how it came to be, and why it must change. White Evangelical Racism is an American revelation, in the real, deep sense of that rightly troubling word."—Jeff Sharlet, best-selling author of The Family and This Brilliant Darkness

Terrific. Provocative. Solidly argued. Amid all the efforts to make sense of evangelicals' political identity, I know of no one besides Anthea Butler who does so with such a disciplined and historically grounded approach—combined with a fluid, direct, and personal style. While focusing on evangelicals' history, Butler shows how we've all been shaped and indicted by racism, and she doesn't let us off the hook."—Julie J. Ingersoll, author of Building God's Kingdom

About the Author

Anthea Butler is associate professor of religion at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of Women in the Church of God in Christ: Making a Sanctified World. A leading historian and public commentator on religion and politics, Butler has appeared on networks including CNN, BBC, and MSNBC and has published opinion pieces in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and many other media outlets. 

Link for pre-order 

Dr. Anthea Butler: "A 'New' History of Evangelicalism—Black Evangelicals and American Evangelicalism" (2015)

 

Monday, October 19, 2020

منظومة سيرة خير البشر - ظفر النتيفات | نظم عبدالإله هوساوي

In Shaykh’s Clothing: a resource website for spiritual abuse in the Muslim community

 https://inshaykhsclothing.com/

The Hurma Project

“Upholding the sacred inviolability of all who enter Muslim spaces from exploitation & abuse by those holding religious power & authority.” 

https://hurmaproject.com/

Taking on Gender-based Violence: An Online Certificate Course for Muslim Leaders

 http://www.caringcommunitiesproject.org/

Omar Suleiman: "What Do I Do When I Find Out My Favorite Preacher Is Corrupt?" (June 3, 2017)

 To the religious institutions that provide cover, you have a responsibility to your members to not put them in harm’s way. The first responsibility of a shepherd is to protect his flock from wolves. If we haven’t learned our lesson from other religious institutions that cover up, know that the person and institution will suffer if things are not rectified properly. If we’re going to restore confidence in religious institutions, it’s going to take slowly regaining the trust of the people by showing zero tolerance for exploitation.

To the scholars and teachers that cover for their colleagues, fear Allah for you are betraying not only the people but the tradition. Do not leave the tradition hostage to people to exploit for nefarious aims. You too will be held accountable for legitimizing an oppressor and putting people in harm’s way. If people see your association as a refutation of claims, you are the strongest cover a criminal has.

https://muslimmatters.org/2017/06/03/what-do-i-do-when-i-find-out-my-favorite-preacher-is-corrupt/ 

NYT: "How Mormons Fed Up With Trump Could Help Lift Biden in Arizona" (Oct. 18, 2020)

 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/18/us/politics/arizona-mormons-trump-biden.html