Religion, Race, and COVID-19

Confronting White Supremacy in the Pandemic

Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9781479810222
• eBook ISBN:
  9781479810284
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Church

Examines how the dynamics emerging from the pandemic affect our most vulnerable populations and shape a new religious landscape

The COVID-19 pandemic upset virtually every facet of society and, in many cases, exposed gross inequality and dysfunction. The particular dynamics emerging from the coronavirus pandemic have been felt most intensely by America's most vulnerable populations, who are disproportionately people of color and the working poor, the people whom the Bible refers to as "the least of these."

This book makes the case that the pandemic was not just a medical phenomenon, or an economic or social one, but also a religious one. Religious practice has been altered in profound ways. Controversies around religious freedom have been re-ignited over debates concerning whether government can restrict church services. Christian white supremacists not only defied shelter in place orders, but found new ways to propagate racist attacks, with their White Christian identity fueling their reactions to the pandemic. Some religious leaders, including those in communities of color, saw the virus as an indicator of God's wrath, or as a divine test, and viewed altering their traditional practices to mitigate the virus's spread as a weakening of faith.

Religion, Race, and COVID-19 argues that there is a religious hierarchy in US society that puts "the least of these" last while prioritizing those who benefit most from white privilege. Yet these vulnerable populations draw on theological and religious resources to contend with these existential threats. The volume shows how social transformation occurs when faith is both formed and informed during crises, offering compelling insight into the saliency and lasting impact of religiosity within human culture.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Contents
• Foreword: Breathe Again
• Preface
• Introduction: The Evidence of Things Not Seen: The Twin Viruses of Blind Faith and Color Blindness
• 1. “First Natural, Then Spiritual”: The Context and Contours of Black Faith in the COVID-19 Era
• 2. Who’s Saving Whom?: Black Millennials and the Revivification of Religious Communities
• 3. Live and Let Die: Spirits of White Christian Male Defiance in the Age of COVID-19
• 4. Where There Are No Answers: Reflecting on Theological Claims in the Age of COVID-19
• 5. The Corons and American Indian Genocide: Weaponizing Infectious Disease as the Continuation of a eurochristian Religious Project
• 6. Love Crafts Countries: Loving beyond the White Divide—A Story of Blackness, Korea, and Transformative Power on the Damascus Road
• 7. Insure Domestic Tranquility: The Uncivil, Un-Christian, and Unconstitutional Crisis in a COVID-19-Era America
• 8. Deep in the Heart of Texas: Race, Religion, and Rights in the COVID-19 Era
• 9. Dying Laughing: Comedic Relief and Redemption in the Time of COVID-19
• 10. Toxic Religion, Toxic Churches, and Toxic Policies: Evangelicals, “White Blessing,” and COVID-19
• 11. I Know Why the Culture War Stings: Racial Realities and Political Realignment in the “Religious Freedom” Debate
• Acknowledgments
• About the Editor
• About the Contributors
• Index