Overview
“Floyd-Thomas invites us to look more closely at the ways in which White supremacy and White Christian nationalism are abominations that forsake the founders of our struggling democracy to live into our motto—the land of the free. . . . Floyd-Thomas holds a light to help us live our faith more deeply as we walk toward our better selves as individuals and as a nation.” –Emilie M. Townes, Martin Luther King, Jr., Professor of Religion and Black Studies, Boston University School of Theology
“Floyd-Thomas lays bare what critical race theorists have always suspected: . . . whiteness is not only property but has a lease on God. This brilliant text bridges the growing chasm between liberation theology and political analysis with equal degrees of poignancy and timeliness. . . . Read this text in order to work together and think to transform American society and culture for the better.” –Blanche Bong Cook, Curt and Linda Rodin Professor of Law and Social Justice, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
“With his customary blend of historical scholarship and ethical urgency, Floyd-Thomas makes a learned, astute, and highly relevant case for a morally-based critical race theology steeped in Black liberationist, womanist, feminist, and queer theological perspectives. If life, love, and liberation are not at the core of your religion, he asks, why not?” –Gary Dorrien, author, A Darkly Radiant Vision: The Black Social Gospel in the Shadow of MLK
“A long overdue moral and theological reckoning with the historical catastrophe that is the allegiance between white supremacy and American Christianity. . . . This book’s mix of history, theory, theology, and contemporary political analysis hacks at the underbrush of our racially enfeebled religiosity while inspiring us toward a new and more just way.” –Brittney Cooper, professor, women’s, gender, and sexuality studies and Africana studies, Rutgers University
“Readers will be challenged and inspired by this magnificent book and its important call to recognize the depth of our humanity and our moral obligations. . . . For any who believe a transformative and liberative Christianity is still possible, this book provides a powerful way forward. I highly recommend it. Pick it up, read it, and be the better because of it!” –Anthony B. Pinn, author, The Black Practice of Disbelief
Ethics and Intersectionality Series
A clarion call to reclaim the essence of faith and the soul of a nation.
In Critical Race Theology Juan Floyd-Thomas examines the entangled roots of white supremacy, white Christian nationalism, and the raging culture wars in America. In this provocative and courageous work Floyd-Thomas charts a path for a revitalized social gospel for the 21st century.
Drawing insights from critical race theory, Black liberation theology, and prophetic Christianity, Floyd-Thomas proposes “critical race theology” as a framework to confront racism, exclusion, and oppression within American Christianity and society. Challenging the self-righteous distortions of conservatives, he calls on clergy and believers to truly embody the liberating spirit of Jesus's radical ethic of love.
For students, scholars and readers of contemporary theology, this timely volume provides a hopeful vision of a future where human dignity, social equality, and spiritual renewal can flourish in a nation reborn.
Juan M. Floyd-Thomas is associate professor, African American religious history, Vanderbilt University Divinity School and Graduate Department of Religion. He is co-founder and executive board member, the nationally-renowned Black Religious Scholars Group (BRSG), and president, Society of Race, Ethnicity, and Religion (SRER).
Cover design: Regina Gelfer
Cover photo: Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas
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