Anthea Butler: What’s Gone Wrong with Evangelical Christianity?

The separation of church and state is a foundational principle of American democracy, but that doesn’t mean that religion hasn’t played an important role in American politics. Throughout American history, varied political movements have claimed religious motivations and scriptural justifications, sometimes in contradictory ways (e.g. both to support and oppose systems of racial hierarchy). Today, evangelical Christian institutions are powerful political organizers, often promoting a nationalist and White-exclusive vision of American identity. These ideas have deep historical roots and continue to undermine principles of inclusive democracy today. Anthea Butler is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought at the University of Pennsylvania. A historian of African American and American religion, Butler’s research and writing spans African American religion and history, race, politics, Evangelicalism, gender and sexuality, media, and popular culture. Butler is the winner of the 2022 Martin Marty Award from the American Academy of Religion. She was a contributor to the book, The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, and her most recent book is White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America. https://uncpress.org/book/9781469661179/white-evangelical-racism/ https://www.msnbc.com/author/anthea-butler-ncpn840911