Racism in Christian Churches?

I heard Anthea Butler at a webinar #whenshespeaks and picked some favourite quotes from her book. She highlights that there was racism in Christian Churches, and that it still exists today. She points out that just as slavery was a curse to black people, it was a blessing to white people. It set up systems that benefited white people. While individuals have apologized for racist behaviours, structural changes or restitution are lacking.

As I have been researching women in church leadership in history, I noticed that many of those who fought for equality of the sexes also fought for equality of races. Christian women such as the Grimke Sisters spoke publicly to advocate for abolition, and when supporters of segregation opposed them because they were women, these same women advocated for voting rights and the right to speak. Many of the Christian arguments in support of racism are recycled in support of sexism.

Book cover

Many times when the mainline or large churches closed the door to women preachers, the women either became independent, itinerant preachers or joined smaller, sidelined denominations. Then the large churches could write off the women preachers as being in churches that were not significant or mainstream, possibly not even truly Christian.

Blacks in America broke away from many churches because those churches followed cultural practices such as segregated seating and not allowing a black to teach a white person.

While Anthea Butler's book is speaking specifically about United States history, those of us in other countries need to look at our own histories. Canada has a history of indentured servitude of blacks, and of disrespect for the culture of our indigenous peoples.

"From using the Bible to support slavery to opposing the civil rights movement, integration, and interracial marriage, evangelicals have long employed a presumed moral authority to hide their prejudices." - Anthea Butler

Theh set of evangelicals who believed in and continue today to beliewve in the inferiority of people of colour are complicit insupporting structures of oppression that are antithetical to the gospel they claim to believe in." - Anthea Butler

"After all, you may have been taught that evangelicals were abolitionists, supported the poor, did mission work around the globe, and made a better world for everyone. And clearly, many did. But many also supported slavery, split churches, believed African Americans were inferior to whites, supported Jim Crow, and avidely opposed civil rights, busing [to integrate schools], and interracial marriage." - Anthea Butler

"American history chronicles evangelical support for and participation in racist structures in America." - Anthea Butler

Praise be to God, we have come a long way since those days.

However, recognizing this racist history may help us see where change may still be needed to make us more like Jesus.

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples: if you love one another.”

John 13:35 NIV

In the novel, Forgotten Followers: from Broken to Bold, Mary is broken by abuse, Joanna by #racism. Both take active steps towards wholeness.

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Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with historical fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:

• Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1, A Novel (2022)

• The Sword: A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role (2023)

• Because She Was Called from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church (2024)

• Walk with Mara on Her Healing Journey: 21 Steps to Emotional Resilience (2024)

• Finding Her Voice from Broken to Bold, Book 3, A Novel of the Earliest Female Apostles (coming October 2025)

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