Religion Is Raced – Understanding American Religion in the Twenty–First Century

Demonstrates how race and power help to explain American religion in the twenty-first century

When White people of faith act in a particular way, their motivations are almost always attributed to their religious orientation. Yet when religious people of color act in a particular way, their motivations are usually attributed to their racial positioning.

Religion Is Raced makes the case that religion in America has generally been understood in ways that center White Christian experiences of religion, and argues that all religion must be acknowledged as a raced phenomenon. When we overlook the role race plays in religious belief and action, and how religion in turn spurs public and political action, we lose sight of a key way in which race influences religiously-based claims-making in the public sphere.

With contributions exploring a variety of religious traditions, from Buddhism and Islam to Judaism and Protestantism, as well as pieces on atheists and humanists, Religion Is Raced brings discussions about the racialized nature of religion from the margins of scholarly and religious debate to the center. The volume offers a new model for thinking about religion that emphasizes how racial dynamics interact with religious identity, and how we can in turn better understand the roles religion―and Whiteness―play in politics and public life, especially in the United States. It includes clear recommendations for researchers, including pollsters, on how to better recognize moving forward that religion is a raced phenomenon.

With contributions by Joseph O. Baker, Kelsy Burke, James Clark Davidson, Janine Giordano Drake, Ashley Garner, Edward Orozco Flores, Sikivu Hutchinson, Sarah Imhoff, Russell Jeung, John Jimenez, Jaime Kucinskas, Eric Mar, Gerardo Martí, Omar M. McRoberts, Besheer Mohamed, Dawne Moon, Jerry Z. Park, Z. Fareen Parvez, Theresa W. Tobin, and Rhys H. Williams.

Grace Yukich is Associate Professor of Sociology at Quinnipiac University and author of One Family Under God: Immigration Politics and Progressive Religion in America.

Penny Edgell is Professor of Sociology, University of Minnesota. She has previously served as Associate Dean for the Social Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota. She is President-Elect of the SSSR and author/editor of four books, including Congregations in Conflict: Cultural Models of Local Religious Life (Cambridge ’99; Best Book Award 2000, ASA Religion Section), Religion and Family in a Changing Society (Princeton, 2005; Distinguished Book Award, ASA Religion section) and our edited Religion is Raced. She is also our former series editor, the Qualitative Studies in Religion book series.