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Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America

Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001, 5.5x8" softbound, 212 pages.

A revealing study of the racial attitudes of white evangelical Americans.

In recent years, the leaders of the American evangelical movement have brought their characteristic passion to the problem of race, notably in the Promise Keepers movement and in reconciliation theology. But the authors of this provocative new study reveal that despite their good intentions, evangelicals may actually be preserving America's racial chasm.

In Divided by Faith, Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith probe the grassroots of white evangelical America, through a nationwide telephone survey of 2,000 people, along with 200 face-to-face interviews. The results of their research are surprising. Most white evangelicals, they learned, see no systematic discrimination against blacks; indeed, they deny the existence of any ongoing racial problem in the United States. Many of their subjects blamed the continuing talk of racial conflict on the media, unscrupulous black leaders, and the inability of African Americans to forget the past. What lies behind this perception? Evangelicals, Emerson and Smith write, are not so much actively racist as committed to a theological view of the world that makes it difficult for them to see systematic injustice. The evangelical emphasis on individualism, free will, and personal relationships makes invisible the pervasive injustice that perpetuates inequality between the races. Most racial problems, they told the authors, can be solved by the repentance and conversion of the sinful individuals at fault.

Combining a substantial body of evidence with sophisticated analysis and interpretation, Emerson and Smith throw sharp light on the oldest American dilemma. Despite the best intentions of evangelical leaders and some positive trends, the authors conclude that real racial reconciliation remains far over the horizon.

Winner of the 2001 Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.

Review Excerpts:

"This path-breaking book is the best study in print on the racial attitudes of white evangelical Protestants. The book's unusual strength comes from its ability to combine a reliable summary of historical circumstances with careful attention to what evangelicals actually say and sensitive use of responsible sociological theory. The arguments of the book are made even more forceful by the willingness of Emerson and Smith to take the evangelicals' own theology seriously, especially where that theology calls into question standard patterns of evangelical racial practice." --Mark A. Noll, Professor of History, Wheaton College

"This is an important book. With thoughtful conceptual distinctions and careful analysis of data from a variety of empirical sources, Emerson and Smith provide an interesting account of how white evangelicals perpetuate the very racial divisions they publicly oppose. Divided by Faith breaks new ground in the study of religion and American race relations. --William Julius Wilson, Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor, Harvard University

"This is a powerful book that illuminates the reasons for the continued racial divide between black and white Christians. In engaging and accesible chapters,the authors meticulously show how white evangelicals look at the world, and how that makes it difficult for them to see racial injustice. . . . As a leader in a multi-ethnic congregation, I know that this book is critical for understanding how God views injustice and how this understanding is key to living in the kind of just and united relationships that God calls us to. This book is a must read for all thinking Christians." --Brad F. Christerson of Whittier, California

"As an evangelical ethnic minority (American born Chinese) raised in the San Francisco bay area, I found this book to be very interesting and fairly accurate. It was recommended to me by a fellow ABC in college actually taking the class of one of the authors, Dr. Michael Emerson." --Philip Fung of Dallas, Texas

"Divided by Faith is the best book I've ever read that explains the problem of why White Evangelical Christians have such a difficult time understanding the concerns of African-Americans. As an African-American growing up in the 60's and now a pastor of an inner city church I have spent the past thirty years attempting to understand and communicate the problem of race in America and what the evangelical church should be doing to address this problem." --Gregory Alexander of Southfield, Michigan

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Michael O. Emerson is Associate Professor of Sociology at Rice University, the author of numerous articles on race relations and religion, and the co-editor of The Social Aspects of Religion in the US and Beyond. Christian Smith is Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and is the author of American Evangelicalism and Christian America? What Evangelicals Really Want.

Title: Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America

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