Mormonism and white supremacy : American religion and the problem of racial innocence / Joanna Brooks.

9780190081782 (electronic book)

New York : Oxford University Press, 2020.

English

1 online resource (232 pages).

BX8643.R33

289.308996073

To this day, churchgoing Mormons report that they hear from their fellow congregants in Sunday meetings that African-Americans are the accursed descendants of Cain whose spirits were destined to come to earth with a 'curse' of black skin. Like most difficult subjects in Mormon history and practice, says Joanna Brooks, the priesthood and temple ban on Blacks has been managed carefully in LDS institutional settings with a combination of avoidance, denial, selective truth-telling, and determined silence. As America begins to come to terms with the costs of white privilege to Black lives, this book urges a soul-searching examination of the role American Christianity has played in sustaining everyday white supremacy by assuring white people of their innocence.

To this day, churchgoing Mormons report that they hear from their fellow congregants in Sunday meetings that African-Americans are the accursed descendants of Cain whose spirits were destined to come to earth with a 'curse' of black skin. Like most difficult subjects in Mormon history and practice, says Joanna Brooks, the priesthood and temple ban on Blacks has been managed carefully in LDS institutional settings with a combination of avoidance, denial, selective truth-telling, and determined silence. As America begins to come to terms with the costs of white privilege to Black lives, this book urges a soul-searching examination of the role American Christianity has played in sustaining everyday white supremacy by assuring white people of their innocence.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Access limited to authorized users.

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on April 27, 2020).

Oxford scholarship online.

Print version: 9780190081768

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