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White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity

White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity

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  • Create Date：2021-07-10 13:31:10
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Robert P. Jones
  • ISBN：1982122870
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Summary

“An indispensible study” （Kirkus Reviews， starred review） drawing on history， public opinion surveys， and personal experience that presents a provocative examination of the unholy relationship between American Christianity and white supremacy， and issues an urgent call for white Christians to reckon with this legacy for the sake of themselves and the nation。

As the nation grapples with demographic changes and the legacy of racism in America， Christianity’s role as a cornerstone of white supremacy has been largely overlooked。 But white Christians—from evangelicals in the South to mainline Protestants in the Midwest and Catholics in the Northeast—have not just been complacent or complicit; rather， as the dominant cultural power， they have constructed and sustained a project of protecting white supremacy and opposing black equality that has framed the entire American story。

With his family’s 1815 Bible in one hand and contemporary public opinion surveys by Public Religion Research Institute （PRRI） in the other， Robert P。 Jones delivers “a refreshing blend of historical accounting， soul searching reflection， and analysis” （Publishers Weekly） of the repressed relationship between Christianity and white supremacy。 White Too Long is “a marvel” （Booklist， starred review） that demonstrates how deeply racist attitudes have become embedded in the DNA of white Christian identity over time and calls for an honest reckoning with a complicated， painful， and even shameful past。 Jones challenges white Christians to acknowledge that public apologies are not enough—accepting responsibility for the past requires work toward repair in the present。

White Too Long is not an appeal to altruism。 It is “a powerful and much-needed book” （Eddie S。 Glaude Jr， professor at Princeton University and author of Begin Again） drawing on lessons gleaned from case studies of communities beginning to face these challenges。 Jones argues that contemporary white Christians must confront these unsettling truths because this is the only way to salvage the integrity of their faith and their own identities。 More broadly， it is no exaggeration to say that not just the future of white Christianity， but the outcome of the American experiment is at stake。

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Reviews

Rebecca ，

Some of what he wrote I knew， I suspected alot but I had never taken a hard look at Christianity and racism until now。 While this book focuses on his experience and doesn't cover every denomination or piece of history， it covers plenty and what it reveals makes me take a hard look at the faith I was raised in and makes me pause to consider what I do now。 Some of what he wrote I knew， I suspected alot but I had never taken a hard look at Christianity and racism until now。 While this book focuses on his experience and doesn't cover every denomination or piece of history， it covers plenty and what it reveals makes me take a hard look at the faith I was raised in and makes me pause to consider what I do now。 。。。more

Steven Yeagley ，

This should be required reading for anyone who identifies as a white Christian in America。

Paul Lemcke ，

This is partly about white supremacy in American Christianity， but it's equally about the history of racism in the South。 I found it to be fascinating but not surprising， and occasionally eye-opening。 Always disturbing and confusing for this northerner。 This is partly about white supremacy in American Christianity， but it's equally about the history of racism in the South。 I found it to be fascinating but not surprising， and occasionally eye-opening。 Always disturbing and confusing for this northerner。 。。。more

Joseph Zairo ，

Consider reading this book if you want a deeper understanding of the history and current state of racism and white supremacy in the U。S。 It will help if you have an open mind。 I would read White Fragility and Caste before reading White Too Long。 White Too Long is more advanced and the other two do a great job laying groundwork。

Vicki ，

Worth the read

Holly Dolezalek ，

I don't think it's going too far to say that White Too Long is one of the most important books in the 21st century。 It's not that other books - The New Jim Crow， Caste， White Fragility， and others - aren't important too。 They are。 But as a white Christian himself， and a white purveyor of the data that indict white Christianity as a bulwark of white supremacy， Jones has written a book that white Christians will find hard to refute in good faith。From describing the survey data that connects white I don't think it's going too far to say that White Too Long is one of the most important books in the 21st century。 It's not that other books - The New Jim Crow， Caste， White Fragility， and others - aren't important too。 They are。 But as a white Christian himself， and a white purveyor of the data that indict white Christianity as a bulwark of white supremacy， Jones has written a book that white Christians will find hard to refute in good faith。From describing the survey data that connects white Christianity to white supremacy， to admitting the involvement of his own family and himself in white supremacist beliefs， to describing the genuine race work that some churches are involved in， Jones has the goods on white Christianity。 He demonstrates that while individual white Christians may be convinced that they feel warmly toward black Americans， they are also frequently more racist than their religiously unaffiliated counterparts - and their frequency of church attendance is not the least predictive of less racist views。Everyone white in America， but especially Christian Americans， should read this book。 It doesn't say anything new about racism itself。 But it does lay plain how racism in America and Christianity in America go hand in hand， and how the only exceptions are those churches where leaders and parishioners have elected to reckon with their past and try to build community with the black Americans who have suffered from their racism。 。。。more

Christine ，

Well-written and argued。 Not too preachy either。 This book is a better analysis of the reasons for Trump’s popularity than many of the other sociological studies that emerged in 2017-2018。 He assumes a Christian audience， but that’s not unreasonable given the topic。 As a non-religious person who was raised religious and left the church as an adult， I’ve always been interested in religious history。 I frequently found myself nodding along with the conclusions in this book that a religious person m Well-written and argued。 Not too preachy either。 This book is a better analysis of the reasons for Trump’s popularity than many of the other sociological studies that emerged in 2017-2018。 He assumes a Christian audience， but that’s not unreasonable given the topic。 As a non-religious person who was raised religious and left the church as an adult， I’ve always been interested in religious history。 I frequently found myself nodding along with the conclusions in this book that a religious person might find surprising — mainly because some of the attitudes he described are among the reasons I’m no longer religious。 As Gandhi is quoted， “I like your Christ， but I don’t like your Christians。” This book offers insights on why many current American Christians seem so far from their supposed model， and offers a call to action for how they can begin to move back towards the ideal to which they claim to aspire。 Of course， that does require admitting some error， which seems to be the hardest thing for many Christians I’ve known。 。。。more

Terry Feix ，

This book will please those who hold the author's preconceptions and infuriate those who don't。 The book is fraught with emotional "reasoning" and red herrings。 This book will please those who hold the author's preconceptions and infuriate those who don't。 The book is fraught with emotional "reasoning" and red herrings。 。。。more

Thomas （Tom） Baynham，Jr。 ，

Jones' writing has the perfect balance of in-depth information and readability for the average reader。 "White Too Long" is a brilliant sequel to "The End of White Christian America" and comes at a critical point in the history of American Christianity， especially for our white evangelical brothers and sisters。 This should be required reading for all white evangelicals， in our local congregations and especially in our religious institutions。 Jones' writing has the perfect balance of in-depth information and readability for the average reader。 "White Too Long" is a brilliant sequel to "The End of White Christian America" and comes at a critical point in the history of American Christianity， especially for our white evangelical brothers and sisters。 This should be required reading for all white evangelicals， in our local congregations and especially in our religious institutions。 。。。more

Belinda ，

Illuminating research and history of white supremacy in America and particularly in the Christian church。

Adam Karapandzich ，

A brilliant account of the intersection of white supremacy and white Christianity in America。 Jones uses his personal narrative to welcome fellow Christians to confront this uncomfortable truth。 As someone living in the North， I didn't expect to see validation of this thesis so quickly， but as I left work yesterday， the evidence was literally right in front of me。 An SUV with a MAGA flag flying on a bolted-on pole was in front of me。 There were at least 5 pro-Trump stickers on the car。 There wer A brilliant account of the intersection of white supremacy and white Christianity in America。 Jones uses his personal narrative to welcome fellow Christians to confront this uncomfortable truth。 As someone living in the North， I didn't expect to see validation of this thesis so quickly， but as I left work yesterday， the evidence was literally right in front of me。 An SUV with a MAGA flag flying on a bolted-on pole was in front of me。 There were at least 5 pro-Trump stickers on the car。 There were also 4 pro-Christian stickers on the car， including one that read something like "real men love Jesus Christ"。 I abandoned my Catholic faith as I became an adult because I was not going to let an institution define who I am as a person。 I felt a freedom from oppression in abandoning that faith and I hope books like this can help Americans realize the truth behind their institutions。 。。。more

Randy ，

I have read many books regarding racial justice and many books related to Faith and religion。 This book is an academic and social science study and review of the unfortunate traffic and abhorrent interconnectedness between religion and the mentality of white supremacy。。 It prides truth and knowledge about how we all need to work to do and be better in upholding r real Christian values especially related to race and social justice。

Dondra ，

Required reading for white American Christians。

Bilal Haque ，

A fascinating look into American Christianity and it’s ties to white supremacy。 The first half of this book is very jargon heavy and took me a while to get through but the second half is a much quicker read bc the events it covers are more recent

David ，

A sometimes pain but ultimately redemptive， hopeful and essential book。

Rob Barry ，

I’m glad I read this book。 I was disappointed by the last two chapters （of 7）。 I believe the following sentence summarizes chapters 1-5: “if you were recruiting for a white supremacist cause on a Sunday morning， you’d likely have more success hanging out in the parking lot of an average white Christian church 。。。 than approaching whites sitting out services at the local coffee shop。”After those first five chapters， the author points the reader to James Baldwin so often that I figure I should hav I’m glad I read this book。 I was disappointed by the last two chapters （of 7）。 I believe the following sentence summarizes chapters 1-5: “if you were recruiting for a white supremacist cause on a Sunday morning， you’d likely have more success hanging out in the parking lot of an average white Christian church 。。。 than approaching whites sitting out services at the local coffee shop。”After those first five chapters， the author points the reader to James Baldwin so often that I figure I should have read Baldwin in lieu of the last two chapters。 。。。more

Gary Webber ，

A wise mentor of mine once said to always look for the grain of truth when being confronted about your own shortcomings。 That was wise counsel that has served me well。 Even the most ridiculous and unfair criticism has often proven helpful。 When reading this book， I did not have to simple look for a grain of truth because the mountains of it screamed out to me from every page。 Every Jesus loving， gospel proclaiming person should read this book。 Allow the salt to sting in the wounds and begin the A wise mentor of mine once said to always look for the grain of truth when being confronted about your own shortcomings。 That was wise counsel that has served me well。 Even the most ridiculous and unfair criticism has often proven helpful。 When reading this book， I did not have to simple look for a grain of truth because the mountains of it screamed out to me from every page。 Every Jesus loving， gospel proclaiming person should read this book。 Allow the salt to sting in the wounds and begin the process of healing and hope that only comes when we are able to confront our sin， repent of it， and trust the grace of our resurrected Savior to raise us back to a new and better life。 。。。more

Alexis ，

This was fascinating， even though I'm not Christian （I'm Jewish， and from the North to boot， making a lot of contemporary Protestant theology unfamiliar to me）。 Jones looks at the history of racism in American Christianity。 Though a lot of the focus is on evangelical Protestantism， Jones finds that it's a problem in mainline Protestantism and Catholicism as well。 Mainline Protestants have been more willing to make public pronouncements， but parishioners are less so。 Meanwhile， white Catholics ha This was fascinating， even though I'm not Christian （I'm Jewish， and from the North to boot， making a lot of contemporary Protestant theology unfamiliar to me）。 Jones looks at the history of racism in American Christianity。 Though a lot of the focus is on evangelical Protestantism， Jones finds that it's a problem in mainline Protestantism and Catholicism as well。 Mainline Protestants have been more willing to make public pronouncements， but parishioners are less so。 Meanwhile， white Catholics have both a legacy and a present day of racist attitudes。 I was shocked （though perhaps I shouldn't have been） to learn that there was formal segregation in New York Catholic parishes。 Not the usual informal New York segregation that relies on underlying housing segregation， but sending Black Catholics to specific parishes， rather than their closest one。 Today in the Northeast， white Catholic affiliation shows the strongest boost to racist attitudes （as measured by a survey） of any subgroup surveyed， while the religiously unaffiliated show the greatest decrease from expected scores。 While some churches were willing to acknowledge their past （mainline more so）， they all had difficulty dealing with the connections to the present， and preferred to view racism as a closed chapter。 The book gave me some tools to understand the theology that leads Christians， especially evangelical Protestants， to persist in maintaining racist attitudes。 I was familiar with the difference between premillennial and postmillennial theology， but Jones makes the connection that premillenialist theology leads to the world view that since we are in a state of decline， there is no point in improving this world--our job is then to await divine redemption。 Evangelicals also focus on an individualist world view based on free will， a personal relationship with God， and an antistructuralist attitude。 This leads evangelicals to see racial issues and discrimination as a question of individual action。 For me， this helped connect a lot of what I see from evangelicals not just to racism but to contemporary politics in general and understand the religious roots of conservative evangelical politics。 Churches also reinforce this through their choice of Bible readings （evangelicals emphasize the Gospels; Black churches show more attention to social justice themes in the prophets）。 Churches also have woven white supremacy directly into their theology and continued to do so well past 1865， mixing in "Lost Cause" mythology。 If I had any criticisms， it's both that this could have been longer， and that there could have been more attention paid to the specific workings of race and white supremacy in Northern churches， which have traditionally not preached formal white supremacy but nonetheless practiced it。 。。。more

Kristina ，

Author Jones， the founder and CEO of PRRI， the Public Religion Research Institute and author of several books about what might be termed American Christianity takes a long， candid look at the relationship of faith and politics。 What's more， he's not an unbiased outsider in this examination。 “They have been white … too long; they have been married to the lie of white supremacy too long" ~ James BaldwinWith that quotation， author Robert Jones opens his examination of the relationship white suprema Author Jones， the founder and CEO of PRRI， the Public Religion Research Institute and author of several books about what might be termed American Christianity takes a long， candid look at the relationship of faith and politics。 What's more， he's not an unbiased outsider in this examination。 “They have been white … too long; they have been married to the lie of white supremacy too long" ~ James BaldwinWith that quotation， author Robert Jones opens his examination of the relationship white supremacy plays in white evangelism。 Jones opens the book with this statement:“The Christian denomination in which I grew up was founded on the proposition that chattel slavery could flourish alongside the gospel of Jesus Christ。 Its founders believed that this arrangement was not only possible but also divinely mandated。”Jones is a pollster who loves data， statistics， also grew up in a deeply devout Christian home in Mississippi。 His book is filled with anecdotes of growing up a white Southern male in the deep south。 The family Bible is referenced frequently as is the data he's collected over the years。What the author offers are observations galore。 Some of them are not terribly surprising， but Jones notes that being part of the dominant religious group in a particular region often leads to higher prejudiced attitudes。 For illustration he points out heightened racial bias is found to be particularly prevalent among white Catholics in the north-east and white Protestants in the south。 Still as he also presents， Obama carried Delaware， Rhode Island， and New York on election day so generalizations can be upended。 。。。more

Valerie ，

Important read - probably a 3。5 or 3。75 - but very readable （or listenable in my case）。

Kristen Campbell ，

White-based religion has got to fight its own supremacist underpinnings。 It cannot continue to ignore its complicity in racism。

Amberinhonduras ，

Hard， heartbreaking but necessary read about the history and current complicity of North American white churches in racism。 Very compelling and engaging。

Adam Clark ，

This books couples well with Bring the War Home by Kathleen Belew。 While Jones does not mention the explicit practices of the KKK or other white surpremacist groups， that knowledge lingered in the back of my mind as I read this book。 Jones makes a succinct and powerful case for white supremacy being at the core of American Christianity。 To me， one's faith cannot be separated from their politics。 American politics is wholly inextricable from American Christianity， and American Christianity is syn This books couples well with Bring the War Home by Kathleen Belew。 While Jones does not mention the explicit practices of the KKK or other white surpremacist groups， that knowledge lingered in the back of my mind as I read this book。 Jones makes a succinct and powerful case for white supremacy being at the core of American Christianity。 To me， one's faith cannot be separated from their politics。 American politics is wholly inextricable from American Christianity， and American Christianity is synonymous （in many ways） with white supremacy - both explicit and implicit。 Therefore， American politics is saturated in white supremacy in large part because of Christianity。 Jones makes a plea to Christians to change this。 Will they？ How many white Evangelicals will read this book， or read it with curiosity and an openness to changing their minds， or being educated？ There's basically zero chance of that happening， but I appreciate that this book was written and will use it as a resource going forward。 。。。more

Michael Berman ，

Fascinating and eye-opening analysis of the ways in which Christianity promotes and enables white supremacy。

Derrick De Vera ，

Sharp， succinct， and surprisingly vulnerable， Robert P。 Jones does an excellent job examining how White Christianity has driven White Supremacy （both explicitly and implicitly） throughout U。S。 history。 Even beyond religious scrutiny， it adds more clarity on American individualism and the country’s ingrained narratives。 I was bracing for a diluted approach interrogating religion （specifically Christianity） but Jones strikes the right tone and avoids common pitfalls for quick fixes or superficial Sharp， succinct， and surprisingly vulnerable， Robert P。 Jones does an excellent job examining how White Christianity has driven White Supremacy （both explicitly and implicitly） throughout U。S。 history。 Even beyond religious scrutiny， it adds more clarity on American individualism and the country’s ingrained narratives。 I was bracing for a diluted approach interrogating religion （specifically Christianity） but Jones strikes the right tone and avoids common pitfalls for quick fixes or superficial comfort。 His self-awareness， sensitivity， and honest examination is at the heart of what makes this a powerful read。 And he does a great job mixing history， personal reflection， drawing from many scholars before him—James Baldwin plays a significant role in his journey—and data driven work。 Must read for those attempting to grapple with our work towards true racial justice。 。。。more

Eric ，

Jones make a strong argument about how Christianity in the U。S。 was inevitably shaped by the dominant white supremacist culture， referencing Toni Morrison's speech about the ways American literature was similarly affected。 He does not pull any punches in highlighting the people and self-serving tactics that have failed to meet the challenge of acknowledging and addressing it， focusing on the people and institutions that have at least paid lip service to the culpability of Christianity。 The fact Jones make a strong argument about how Christianity in the U。S。 was inevitably shaped by the dominant white supremacist culture， referencing Toni Morrison's speech about the ways American literature was similarly affected。 He does not pull any punches in highlighting the people and self-serving tactics that have failed to meet the challenge of acknowledging and addressing it， focusing on the people and institutions that have at least paid lip service to the culpability of Christianity。 The fact that even the exceptions to the general trend of willful blindness and angry denials have too often been cowardly or half-hearted shows the extent of the problem。 。。。more

Laurie Anderson ，

Disappointed

Paul ，

Valuable in its synthesis of history， poll data and interpretation， and then articulation of the need for a white reckoning of America's past--one more focused on justice work than on simple reconciliation--Jones's book sets the stage for other books that are forthcoming about how American minorities navigate this terrain in--and despite--their faith。The sections about Georgia history--especially surrounding Macon--are quite interesting。 Valuable in its synthesis of history， poll data and interpretation， and then articulation of the need for a white reckoning of America's past--one more focused on justice work than on simple reconciliation--Jones's book sets the stage for other books that are forthcoming about how American minorities navigate this terrain in--and despite--their faith。The sections about Georgia history--especially surrounding Macon--are quite interesting。 。。。more

Matthew T ，

One of the most upsetting books I have ever read。 If you are white American Christian， you owe it to yourself to read this book。

Gary Ridenour ，

76%

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0