A Study of Modern Racism
In Infected Christianity, Alan Davies focuses on five modern “Christs” to examine how the Christian church has succumbed to the infection of racist ideas. Davies shows that the myths of race and nation, innocent in themselves, have evolved into “sacred” myths and histories which not only infected Christianity but, in the case of Germany and South Africa, served to legitimize ruling racist elites.
The Germanic Christ is discussed first and most extensively. French Roman-Catholic racism is next, particularly its role in the Third Republic, through discussion of the “Latin” Christ. Davies’s study of the Anglo-Saxon Christ covers both English and American expressions of racism and their links to imperialism, which is followed by a discussion of Afrikaner racism, and an exploration of black nationalism in the United States and its advocacy of a black Christ.
In this book, Davies traces the course of racism to its roots in the religious, cultural, and intellectual history of western civilization and to its culmination in the formation of the Aryan myth – the great race myth of white Europeans.
Reviews and endorsements of the publication include:
“A succinct and significant overview of the subject…such an overview would be welcomed by a mainline Christian readership…For secular readers of social history…it could provide an honest and interesting glimpse into the ongoing struggle between Christianity and culture.” D.J. Hall, Department of Religious Studies, McGill University
For more information on the publication, click here.
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