Sociology 3301: Sociology of Religion
Lecture 21: Religion and Race II
 Today we consider how religion may unwittingly contribute to
racism through its worldview (meaning factors), its reference
group influences (belonging factors), and its organizational
strategies (institutional factors).
 While various religions have contributed to racism through
various specific combinations of these factors, we consider how,
despite teachings to the contrary, each may facilitate the
formation and persistence of racism in Christianity.
Meaning Factors:
 There are at least 2 types of racism:
(1) Dominative racism: the desire to dominate or control members
of another group, usually by attempts to subjugate them.
(2) Aversive racism: the desire to avoid contact with members of a
specific group rather than to subjugate them.
 Many people condemn the former while living the latter.
 Moral Perfection and Color Symbolism: Some Protestant
theologies stress moral purity and perfection, with a
corresponding desire to avoid contact with anything evil, unclean,
or polluting (e.g. the Puritans).
 This relates to cultural and linguistic symbolism, particularly as it
relates to color (i.e. where white is pure and black is dirty, foul,
and unclean in multiple and threatening ways).
 Wilmore notes areas of the U.S. particularly influenced by
Puritanism and Perfectionism are more likely than others to have
strong aversive racism.
 Freewill Individualism and Failure to Recognize Institutional
Discrimination: Stark and Glock note the Christian emphasis on
free will and a radical individualism before God.
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 The same concept of freedom lies behind such socioeconomic
concepts as rugged individualism, the idea that each person gets
his/her just desserts as circumstances reflect personal choices,
lifestyle, and willingness to work hard.
 People holding such views are not likely to want to change
society’s systematically discriminatory structures. Indeed, they
are not likely to recognize institutional discrimination at all.
 Those who hold to traditional Christian doctrines of free will,
individual responsibility, and moral retribution are more likely to
believe in rugged individualism and less likely to work for the
reduction of institutional discrimination. They instead suggest
minorities work harder to improve themselves.
 Particularism and Antipathy to Outsiders: Another set of
religious beliefs is also linked with certain kinds of prejudice –
revolving around the assumption that one’s own religion is
uniquely true and legitimate and that all others are false.
 Some religions or theologies emphasize this more than others,
and sometimes religion can contribute to conflict or build bridges
depending on how particularistic a given group is.
Belonging Factors:
 Religion may also contribute to prejudice through its sense of
community and feeling of belonging.
 As the religious community becomes a major reference group,
people want to conform to community norms to feel accepted.
 As the come to identify closely with the group, they develop a
sense of “us” and “them.”
 Strong group boundaries not only enhance commitment, they
may also foster prejudice.
 Informal Group Norms: Informal norms and values may conflict
with official doctrine, but still be vigorously enforced through
informal sanctions.
 Friendship networks and unofficial norms may be more
significant at times than official statements of religious bodies or
sermons from the pulpit.
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 Group Boundaries and Identification with the In-Group: The idea
that people tend to accept those who are similar to them and be
suspicious of those who are “different” highlights another factor.
 Hartley (1946) found a high level of prejudice towards
nonexistent groups. Thus, prejudice is not caused by stereotypes
but the extent to which such people sounded similar to or
different from respondents.
 To add to this, a number of Christian groups place a strong
emphasis on particularism, adding to the in-group sense of
superiority and the distinction between “us and them.”
 Religiously based “we-they” prejudice is especially likely where
religious and racial boundaries are coextensive.
Institutional Factors:
 Religion as an institutional structure can affect social behavior
somewhat independently of the belief system or reference group.
 Clergy can be stuck between their congregation and the liberal
theological views of their professional colleagues, adopting a
“don’t rock the boat” stance so as to advance in their career.
 This exemplifies the dilemma of mixed motivations.
 The relative silence of clergy on controversial issues that results
effectively fosters an environment where it seems everyone
shares the same view. Conformity to discriminatory norms
becomes easy, for few people say anything to challenge it.
 In such a case, religion is not a factor in causing prejudice, but,
in failing to oppose it forthrightly, such religious communities
contribute to its continued existence.
 Quinley (1974) found support for more vigorous ministry
depended on: (1) the relative liberalism or conservatism of the
congregation; (2) the liberalism or conservatism of
denominational leaders; and (3) the organizational structure of
the denomination (i.e. congregational, Presbyterian, or
Episcopal). Careers hung in the balance.
 Of course, religious institutions are quite capable of using their
influence to combat racism. For example, the Roman Catholic
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Church was instrumental in starting a program known as Project
Equality, where various churches use their buying power to
require suppliers to adopt affirmative action policies.
Institutional factors may thus work either to enhance racial
prejudice and discrimination or to combat it.
It is simplistic to say that religion contributes to bigotry or that it
contributes to tolerance. One needs to look both at what
interpretation of the belief system is at work, and how any given
religious group may be contributing to tolerance in some respects
while contributing to prejudice in others.
The meaning, belonging, and institutional subsystems that
comprise religion may work at cross purposes.
In addition, religious prejudice is often an expression of other
conflicts within the society at large.
Social Conflict & Religious Expression: The Conflict Perspective:
 Religious prejudice is often a reflection of larger social conflicts
rather than their cause. It may simply serve as a justification for
discriminatory behavior against an out-group defined as
spiritually inferior.
 Marxists look to non-religious causes of prejudice, such as
conflict over scarce resources (e.g. the best jobs, housing,
educational opportunities, and social status).
 While groups differing in appearance or culture may or may not
result in prejudice, when they are in conflict over scarce
resources, this boosts the odds of prejudice. Where one group has
more power to control access to scarce and valued resources,
discrimination and prejudice are nearly universal.
 When differences in racial characteristics, cultural backgrounds,
language, religious orientations, and economic self-interests are
coextensive and mutually exclusive, antipathy is likely to occur.
While religion may be a factor, conflict over scarce resources is
the primary cause. Yet religion comes to serve as a justification
or rationalization for hostility against “them.”
 The contrary situation is where lines of demarcation are
crosscutting.
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 Hence, religion often acts to reflect larger social conflicts.
Students of religion must be careful of overgeneralizing about
religion as a source of social conflict or prejudice. In any
situation, religion may well be one among several causes, and
each case must be examined in terms of the specific social setting
and worldviews involved.
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