By Kate Eubanks
In a recent episode of Religion Unmuted, host Elaine Howard Ecklund sat down with sociologist Michael O. Emerson to discuss his new book, The Religion of Whiteness, co-authored with Glenn Bracey. The conversation explored a central and intentionally provocative claim: that in the United States, race can take on religious significance in ways that reshape Christian belief and practice. (Listen to the episode here)
Emerson defines the "religion of whiteness" in sociological terms, as a "unified system of beliefs and practices" that sacralizes whiteness--treating it as normative, authoritative, and implicitly universal. Rather than simply arguing that Christianity has been racialized, Emerson suggests something more specific: race itself can become "religionized," invested with transcendent meaning. In this framework, cultural assumptions associated with whiteness are subtly coded as biblical or universally Christian, even when they are historically and socially particular.
Importantly, Emerson distinguishes this phenomenon from Christianity itself. "Ultimately," he notes, "we say it isn't Christianity. It's a different religion that people are following." His research indicates that roughly two-thirds of white practicing Christians--those who regularly attend church and describe faith as highly important--exhibit orientations consistent with this pattern. Yet a significant minority do not, and adherence is not neatly correlated with partisan identity. The dynamics he describes appear across theological and political divides.
The episode also addresses multiracial congregations, where Emerson finds that diversity alone does not preclude the persistence of whiteness as a normative standard. When culturally specific expressions of faith are treated as universally valid, other expressions may be marginalized--even unintentionally.
The conversation widens to consider Christian nationalism in the United States and the global rise of ethno-religious nationalisms. Emerson argues that contemporary politics increasingly operates along an "identity axis," intensifying debates over who belongs and who represents the "true" nation. When national identity is framed in cosmic or sacred terms, religious and political conflicts can deepen.
Yet the tone of the interview is not fatalistic. Emerson concludes with a call to hope: coaliltion-building among Christians of color and white Christians who resist sacralizing race, renewed attention to national narratives, and the cultivation of movements capable of telling a more historically grounded and inclusive Christian story.
Religion Unmuted is a monthly podcast from the Boniuk Institute and it's Religion and Public Life Center, featuring conversations with leading scholars and practitioners on how religion is lived and how it shapes conflict, cooperation, and the institutions we share. Catch up on past episodes and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.