Divided by faith : evangelical religion and the problem of race in America / Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Emerson, Michael O., 1965- author.

Smith, Christian, 1960- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Evangelicalism--United States.

Evangelicalism.

Race relations--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Race relations.

United States--Race relations.

United States.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2025]

Summary:

'Divided by Faith' has become a landmark book for understanding race & religion in the US. Drawing on a nationwide telephone survey of 2000 people & additional face-to-face interviews, it probes the grassroots of white evangelical America. 25 years on from the first edition, Michael O. Emerson & Christian Smith find that despite efforts by the movement's leaders to address the problem of racial discrimination, evangelicals themselves are still preserving America's racial chasm. In fact, most white evangelicals see no systematic discrimination against Black Americans or other racial groups. The authors contend that it is not overt racism that prevents evangelicals from recognizing ongoing problems in American society. Instead, it is the evangelical movement's emphasis on individualism, free will, & personal relationships that makes invisible the pervasive injustice that perpetuates racial inequality.

Contents:

Cover

Half Title

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Religion and the Racialized Society

Who Are Evangelicals?

Chapter 1 Confronting the Black-White Racial Divide

Is the United States Really Racialized?

Religion and Overcoming the Racialized Society

Our Methods

Where We Go From Here

Chapter 2 From Separate Pews to Separate Churches: Evangelical Racial Thought and Practice, 1700-1964

The Early Provincial Period: 1700-1730

The Evangelical Great Awakening

The New Nation: 1770-1830.

The Nation Divides: 1830-1865

Southern Evangelical Religion and Slavery: 1830-1865

New Form, Similar Result: 1865-1917

Renewed Concern: 1917-1950

The Civil Rights Era of the 1950s and Early 1960s

Conclusion

Chapter 3 Becoming Active: Contemporary Involvement in the American Dilemma

The Beginnings of Evangelical Reconciliation Thought and Activity

Developing and Expanding the Message

A White Evangelical and Racial Reconciliation: The Story of Curtiss DeYoung

The Crusade for Racial Reconciliation

Something Lost in Translation.

Chapter 4 Color Blind: Evangelicals Speak On the "Race Problem"

Making Sense of Evangelical Perspectives

Religio-Cultural Tools in the White Evangelical Kit

Isolation From Racial Pluralism and Cultural Tools

The Race Problem According to the Less Isolated

What Are Some Concrete Examples of "Racism"?

Linking Views of the Race Problem and Racism to Racialization

Chapter 5 Controlling One's Own Destiny: Explaining Economic Inequality Between Black and White Americans

Explaining Racial Economic Inequality: The Views From a National Survey.

Explaining Racial Economic Inequality: The Views From Our Interviews

The Effect of Increased Contact With African Americans

The Connection Between Explanations of Black-White Inequality and Racialization

A Parable

Chapter 6 Let's Be Friends: Exploring Solutions to the Race Problem

Solutions to "Racism": The Views From Our Survey

Comparing Responses to the Solutions-To-Racism Alternatives By Evangelical Type and Race

Solutions to Racism From the Perspective of the Less Racially Isolated

What Is Racial Reconciliation to White Grassroots Evangelicals?

Evangelical Solutions to the Race Problem and Racialization

A Substantial Shift in Focus: Thinking More Broadly

Chapter 7 The Organization of Religion and Internally Similar Congregations

Becoming a "Religious Marketplace"

Why Congregations Are Internally Similar

Why Are People in Religious Groups?

Groups Need Boundaries and Social Solidarity

Internally Similar Congregations Are Less Costly

Social-Psychological Reasons

Macrosociological Reasons

From the Abstract Back to the Concrete: Religious Organizations and the Homogeneous Units Principle

A Final Word.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource and publisher information; title from PDF title page (Oxford Academic, viewed on June 15, 2026).

Other Format:

Print version: Emerson, Michael O. Divided by Faith

ISBN:

9780197802649

0197802648

9780197802632

019780263X

9780197802625

0197802621

OCLC:

1539298089

Publisher Number:

CIPO000281262

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license