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White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity Hardcover – Illustrated, July 28, 2020

by Robert P. Jones (Author)

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Drawing on history, public opinion surveys, and personal experience, Robert P. Jones delivers a provocative examination of the unholy relationship between American Christianity and white supremacy, and issues an urgent call for white Christians to reckon with this legacy for the sake of themselves and the nation.

As the nation grapples with demographic changes and the legacy of racism in America, Christianity’s role as a cornerstone of white supremacy has been largely overlooked. But white Christians—from evangelicals in the South to mainline Protestants in the Midwest and Catholics in the Northeast—have not just been complacent or complicit; rather, as the dominant cultural power, they have constructed and sustained a project of protecting white supremacy and opposing black equality that has framed the entire American story.

With his family’s 1815 Bible in one hand and contemporary public opinion surveys by Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) in the other, Robert P. Jones delivers a groundbreaking analysis of the repressed history of the symbiotic relationship between Christianity and white supremacy. White Too Long demonstrates how deeply racist attitudes have become embedded in the DNA of white Christian identity over time and calls for an honest reckoning with a complicated, painful, and even shameful past. Jones challenges white Christians to acknowledge that public apologies are not enough—accepting responsibility for the past requires work toward repair in the present.

White Too Long is not an appeal to altruism. Drawing on lessons gleaned from case studies of communities beginning to face these challenges, Jones argues that contemporary white Christians must confront these unsettling truths because this is the only way to salvage the integrity of their faith and their own identities. More broadly, it is no exaggeration to say that not just the future of white Christianity but the outcome of the American experiment is at stake.

Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Simon & Schuster
Publication date

July 28, 2020
Dimensions

6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1982122862
ISBN-13

978-1982122867
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is a marvel. It manages to quietly excoriate the insidious, entrenched attitudes that continue to sow racial hatred and division and to show the large and small ways that they continue. Devoid of moralizing, this powerful, heavily researched and annotated book is a must-read for religious leaders and academics." ― Booklist (starred review)

"A concise yet comprehensive combination of deeply documented religious history, social science research about contemporary religion, and heartfelt memoir. . . . An indispensable study of Christianity in America." ― Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“White Too Long is a powerful and much needed book. It is a direct challenge to white Christians to finally put aside the idolatry of whiteness in order to release the country and themselves into a different possibility. With clarity of moral vision, historical nuance, and the sensitivity of an artist’s pen, Jones has written a critical book for these troubled times.” -- Eddie S. Glaude Jr., James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of African American Studies, Princeton University; author of Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lesson for Our Own

“In White Too Long, Robert Jones offers both searching personal testimony and a rigorous look at the facts to call white Christians to account for the scandalous ways white supremacists have regularly distorted and manipulated a faith dedicated to love and justice to rationalize racism. Jones is a rare and indispensable voice in our public conversation about religion because he combines painstaking data analysis with a sure moral sense. May this book encourage soul-searching, repentance, and conversion.” -- E. J. Dionne Jr., Columnist for The Washington Post; author of Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Country

"Jones builds his case with evidence, drawing on an eclectic blend of history, theology, sociology and memoir. . . . It’s hard to argue with his conclusion that white supremacy is somehow genetically encoded into white Christianity in the United States. . . . Challenges people of faith to chart a new path forward." -- Jemar Tisby ― The New York Times

“Robert P. Jones’s searing White Too Long brilliantly argues that his fellow white Christians must dissent from their received faith and embrace a theology of racial justice. White Too Long is a prophetic call of redemption for folk who have too often idolized whiteness and worshipped America instead of the God of Martin, Fannie Lou and Jesse.” -- Michael Eric Dyson, University Professor of Sociology, Georgetown University; author of Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America

“White Too Long is meticulously researched and compelling throughout. It’s also a damning moral indictment of the way white supremacy has infected the white church in the United States from its very beginnings—which lays bare the need, now more than ever, for white Christians to systematically repent of white supremacy.” -- Jim Wallis, Founder and President of Sojourners; author of Christ in Crisis? Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus

“With integrity and vulnerability, Jones exposes the subtle but profound compatibility between white supremacist ideology and white Christian theology. This remarkably courageous, must read book helps white Christians in America finally face the question Jones had to ask himself, ‘Can you be “white” and Christian?’” -- The Very Reverend Kelly Brown Douglas, Dean of Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary; Canon Theologian, Washington National Cathedral

"A refreshing blend of historical accounting, soul-searching reflection, and analysis of white supremacy within the American Christian identity. . . . Jones’s introspective, measured study is a revelatory unpacking of influence and history of white Christian nationalism."

― Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Robert P. Jones is the CEO and founder of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and a leading scholar and commentator on religion and politics. Jones writes a column on politics, culture, and religion for The Atlantic online. He is frequently featured in major national media, such as CNN, MSNBC, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others. He holds a PhD in religion from Emory University and a MDiv from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of The End of White Christian America, which won the 2019 Grawemeyer Award in Religion.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster; Illustrated edition (July 28, 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1982122862
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1982122867
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.06 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #418,149 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #461 in History of Religion & Politics
- #1,512 in Christian Social Issues (Books)
- #1,730 in History of Christianity (Books)

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4.7 1,471 ratings

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Robert P. Jones

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Robert P. Jones is the President and Founder of PRRI and a leading scholar and commentator on religion, culture, and politics. He is the author of:

* "The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future," a New York Times bestseller;

* “White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity,” winner of a 2021 American Book Award; and

* “The End of White Christian America,” winner of the 2019 Grawemeyer Award in Religion.

Jones writes a regular newsletter at https://robertpjones.substack.com.

Jones also has bylines at The Atlantic online, TIME, NBC Think, and Religion News Service and is frequently featured in major national media such as MSNBC, CNN, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others. Jones serves on the Committee for the Public Understanding of Religion for the American Academy of Religion. He holds a Ph.D. in religion from Emory University, a M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a B.S. in computing science and mathematics from Mississippi College. Jones was selected by Emory University’s Graduate Division of Religion as Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 2013, and by Mississippi College’s Mathematics Department as Alumnus of the Year in 2016.

Before founding PRRI, Jones worked as a consultant and senior research fellow at several think tanks in Washington, D.C., and was an assistant professor of religious studies at Missouri State University.

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Mike K.

a must-read - honest, engaging, and urgently needed

Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2020

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My husband, Mike K., bought this book on my behalf. I’m recommending it to all my Christian friends.
"White Too Long" by Robert Jones is a wake-up call, a must-read for anyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ and wants to see the church as being aligned with God’s purpose. It is well-written, and very enlightening, and based on careful research and a solid survey methodology.
We who are Christians like to believe that the Gospel is above all distinctions, and that all people are one in Christ. The book helped explain for me, an adult convert on fire for Christ, how the church—which should be a vehicle of unity and reconciliation among all peoples—has in fact been turned into a mechanism for intentionally endorsing and encouraging white supremacist causes in its development as an institution in America.
As a female pastor of color serving in entirely white congregations, I have personally experienced the bigotry and racism that is diminishing the church. Many church insiders just give up on the church and leave. Many remain in denial and turn a blind eye. The remainder struggle to understand why people who should be peacemakers in a torn world are aiding and abetting ideologies such as white supremacy. To those who are watching from the outside, the church is little more than a club based on human agendas and objectives. As Jones observes in chapter 3, the internalization of one’s religious commitment in a personal relationship to Jesus, and how one sees Jesus (as “white/ Aryan Caucasian or a swarthy Semite”) can shape one’s understanding of discipleship or salvation.
"White Too Long" is an honest and engaging reflection from a church insider and award-winning writer that enables “the scales falling from our eyes.” This is an important first step in returning the church to its purpose.
This is very timely book. It speaks to the dire need today of the church to develop self-awareness, if it is to be a vehicle for sharing the good news. Jones rightly points out that it is time to bring back into preaching and into church conversation those topics that have been cleverly dubbed for decades as “politics” and therefore set aside. Without those difficult but mutual conversations that address real issues relating to how we see, hear, and treat other people, we who are Christians might never regain our credibility as witnesses for Christ. I really appreciate this book, because without such discussion, evangelism in the current climate in our country is a lost cause.

59 people found this helpful

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Angie

Another side of southern Christianity

Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2023

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This is a very interesting read. As a northerner, I found it enlightening as to what southern Christians believed and how they lived their beliefs. At times it was shocking and in direct opposition to Christianity. Thoughtfully written. I highly recommend it to help understand some of the racial complexities in our society.

One person found this helpful

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drjec20002

Robert zp. Jones speaks truth to (white) power.

Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2023

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With well researched history and great humanity Jones traces the wrongs committed by white Christian supremacists that have greatly harmed people of color but has also harmed white Christians who believe they are the chosen ones. Trite in our times as it may seem, Jones sees LOVE as the path to improving our future. Jones shows that accepting the wrongs of our ancestors, though difficult, opens our minds and our hearts. This is a phenomenal book that you owe to your mind and your heart

4 people found this helpful

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Black Studies Reader

Great book in HORRIBLE CONDITION

Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2023

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Very disappointed at the condition of this book. It's a great read but the condition is not good enough to keep with a home library.

One person found this helpful

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Mark Campbell

First-rate

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2021

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Robert Jones has provided readers with a scathing indictment of white Christian America. He examines the historical record to show that American Christianity’s theological core has been thoroughly structured by an interest in protecting white supremacy and uses public opinion survey data to show a positive correlation between white supremacy and Christianity in contemporary society. And not just evangelicals but a majority of mainline denominations as well as Catholics.
As just one of the many historical examples consider the following more recent event. In 1965 Jerry Falwell declined to participate in the civil rights movement. According to Falwell, “Preachers are not called to be politicians, but to be soul winners.” In 1979, however, after Bob Jones University lost its tax-exempt status over its racially discriminatory policies, Falwell formed his own political organization, the Moral Majority. Now, according to Falwell, “The idea that religion and politics don’t mix was invented by the devil”. As Jones explains, what appears to be a contradiction is merely a tactical maneuver when one realizes that the primary goal is to defend white supremacy. When white supremacy was secure Falwell found a Biblical mandate for eschewing politics. When white supremacy was threatened he found a mandate for political organizing.
Particularly informative is the chapter on the methods and findings of his statistical analysis. According to Jones, “the overall pattern that emerges is abundantly clear… the more racist attitudes a person holds, the more likely he or she is to identify as a white Christian.” And again, although evangelicals are typically the worst they are by no means alone. For example, while evangelicals claim the warmest feelings for African Americans while simultaneously scoring highest on the Racism Index, the pattern holds for mainlines and as well as Catholics. Evangelicals lead the pack elsewhere as well. Those holding racist views are almost four times more likely to be frequent church attenders. Although Jones doesn’t say so this would seem to follow from the method of choosing ministers. For Southern Baptists, the largest evangelical denomination, choosing a minister is a strictly local affair. A racist congregation would be more likely to select a racist minister. Of course the corollary to all this is that the religiously unaffiliated are much less likely to hold racist attitudes. It has been my conviction for quite some time that the moral compass of the non religious is truer than the church goer’s but it’s nice to have it confirmed by no less than a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
The book has a short section on how the Confederate battle flag has taken on a more political and ideological meaning. These flags are fairly common in my rural southern community but I’ve tried to put a positive spin on it. At Bill Engvall’s suggestion I have employed them as warning signs for people to be avoided. Based on Jone’s analysis it appears that Christian imagery serves the same function more often than not. What else is one to make of his suggestion that a white supremacist recruitment drive would have better luck in the church parking lot on Sunday morning than among the backsliders in the local coffee shop?

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Ina

Personal and Evidence Based

Reviewed in Canada on February 18, 2021

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I bought several well researched books about evangelicalism and racism. This was the best.

The author has stellar southern evangelical credentials. But his thoughtful examination of the evangelical perpetuation of racism is based on evidence. His sorrow is that while his parents taught him to treat everyone with dignity, the churches where he learned and served never examined their racial sins.

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