Is God Racist?
...he blessed gospel now sheds it’s genial influence on Africa, by the preaching of missionaries of the cross, it’s natives have no need to be carried to foreign lands, in order to enjoy it’s light.” (29). Slave importation was abolished just a few months after this convention, in 1808. The mid to late 1800’s brought the civil war, and slavery was suddenly pushed to the forefront of all national attention. New breeds of abolitionists aided the push for the abolishment of slavery. They stressed a immediate change in policy, calling for freedom and equality amongst all people. With the passing and declaration of the Emancipation Proclamation, and the ending of the civil war, slavery was abolished, and all slaves freed. The Civil Right Era brought a new realm of racial segregation to the United States. The early 1950’s and 1960’s were a period of great racial unrest and change. These movements were started, and fueled, by the grassroots campaigns from inside the black churches. A major turning point for desegregation came in 1954, with Brown v. Board of Education. This ruling stated that schools could no longer differentiate based on the race of a student. Another shot to segregation came in 1963, with the March on Washington, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his famous ‘I have a dream…’ speech. In a radio interview, Dr. King said, “Eleven o’clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in Christian America.” Unfortunately, Dr. King was assassinated in 1968, just as he was beginning to see the fruits of his labor pay off. In recent years, attempts to lessen the racial gap by white evangelicals have only further increased it. Emerson and Smith state that evangelical religion "intensifies the different values and experiences of each racial group, sharpening and increasing the divide between black and white Americans." There are many instances in today’s world in which segregation is evident, most commonly in social and political arenas of society. In society today, segregation has become an accepted norm. Products are marketed to one group, news is skewed towards a specific race, and even television networks are predominately white or black. Societal differences have led to the increase is racial segregation. Over 2,000 people were surveyed for their reasoning on why blacks having worse jobs, lower income, and sub standard housing compared to whites. White evangelicals significantly cited more individualistic reasons over more structural reasons. Most people surveyed stated that this segregation was due to a lack of motivation or will-power on the part of the black community. However, when black evangelicals were asked for their reasoning behind this problem, they overwhelmingly cited less individualistic reasons and more structural reasons. Most of these evangelicals felt that this was due to racial discrimination. The problems of racial segregation also exist in the lack of interracial marriages and heavily segregated communities. In one report, only one half of all marriages in the United States are interracial marriages. This is an overwhelmingly low number of interracial marriages. This is because of several things. The main reason, however, is the seeing eye of society. Interracial marriages are often looked down upon and scorned in white communities. Segregated communities are also another problem with social integration. Inner city wards and predominantly poorer cities are often occupied by black populations. These also commonly have higher crime rates, shorter life expectancies, and lower incomes. The authors show that evangelicals overwhelmingly felt that people should, "try to get to know people of another race". While white evangelicals have tried ‘in vain’ to assist and aid these communities, efforts are often rejected. This creates problems with trying to socially desegregate America. Interestingly enough, almost no evangelical feels that racially integrated residential neighborhoods would solve the problem of deseg...