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Confessions of a Christian Supremacist

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Confessions of a Christian Supremacist CONFESSIONS OF A CHRISTIAN SUPREMACIST Julie Todd, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Denver/luff School of Theology In this narrative, the author describes her journey as a progressive, white, U.S. Christian in comprehending the deeply embedded nature of her position of Christian superiority, which she names Christian supremacy. She indicates the obstacles and opportunities in dismantling Christian privilege for Christians and those who work with them in social justice-social action circles. The author questions how certain Christian beliefs and attitudes may prevent or promote anti-oppressive practice. The unique complexities, promises, and resources for grappling with the intersec- tions of marginalized and privileged identities within Christian privilege work are highlighted. A year ago I enrolled in a social work class was an obvious signal that it was. I did not called Disrupting Privilege through Anti- find it too difficult to accept that the Oppressive Practice (for information on the "knapsack" of Christian privileged with which pedagogy and structure of the course, see I was associated were, indeed, real: the Walls, Roll, Griffin, & Sprague, in press;Walls prevalence and positive portrayal of my et al., 2009). In the class, students were placed Christian tradition and values dominating la\y in groups associated with a specific kind of media, culture, and history; the comfort and systemic privilege that they personally security of being, speaking, and practicing my embodied. There was a white privilege caucus Christian faith without threat of violence; and and an able-bodied privilege caucus. Though the concrete ways I continue to benefit when I shared both of those privileged identities, 1 atheists and other non-Christian traditions are was placed in the Christian privilege caucus excluded and marginalized. While I was in order to delve into the ways that my stunned once again by recognizing this new Christian identity had benefited me and layer of privilege, my consciousness was oppressed others. raised. Despite my years of anti-oppression work, Throughout the first few weeks of the the language of Christian privilege was class, I consoled myself with the notion that completely new to me. 1 had breathed the air because of my progressiveness, at the very of Christian privilege my whole life. I was a least I was "better" than most other Christians. WASP pastor's kid from New England, a I wanted to clarify that I was definitely not former foreign missionary, an ordained local like my fellow United Methodists Geoige W. church pastor, and currently a doctoral student Bush and Dick Cheney . I distanced myself in Christian social ethics. I was a serious not only from the extremely intolerant, warring- theological and political progressive, a Christian type of Christian, but was also quick to see living on the margins of my own religious myself as different from the other student tradition. I was a feminist, an activist in my members of my Christian privilege caucus, who denomination for the full inclusion GLBTQ mostly defined themselves as evangelical. (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendeç and queer) Certain in-class experiences fostered my Christians, experienced in interfaith work, and transformation. In a theatre of the privileged involved in the community for racial and exercise, I embodied my position of distance indigenous justice. I was aware of the ravages from "other Christians." Literally separating of Christian domination and violence against myself from my own caucus members during marginalized groups throughout the ages. I had the exercise helped me see that this cognitive no compunction to speak about such matters behavior was a form of resistance to doing openly. That it had never crossed my mind, my own work and fully acknowledging the not even once, that my identity as a Christian extent of my privilege. While I was distancing in this country was a privileged social location from the evangelicals in the caucus, there was 140 REFLECTIONS - WINTER 2010 Confessions of a Christian Supremacist some parallel version of this resistant distancing retumed to a text we had read early in the that all of the members of the Christian privilege quarter by Goodman (2001): caucus were actually doing - each of us Christians distancing ourselves from other Superiority is not always Christians whom we considered to be conveyed in blatant and intentional somewhere on the spectrum of religiously ways. In reference to racism, bell unenlightened to violently extreme. In fact, my hooks... calls this type of behavior was hardly different. I was also a superiority "White supremacy. " Christian who considered myself to be a better She defines it as the unconscious, Christian and better person with better beliefs internalized values and attitudes than others. Disassociating myself prevented me from dealing with a central issue: my own that maintain domination, even sense of righteousness, how I positioned myself when people do not support or in relation to people of other faiths or no display overt discrimination or religious faith, and the power wielded by my prejudice... This sense of privileged group over others. superiority extends from the In another experiential exercise, the characteristics and culture of the caucus members participated in a fish-bowl dominant group to the individuals exercise, sitting in the middle of the room while themselves. Oppression is other class members read statements from commonly defined, in part, as the persons who experienced marginalization and belief in the inherent superiority of oppression as a result of Christians' attitudes one group over another (p. 19) and behaviors. Some members of my caucus cried as we began to bear witness to the anger and pain that our Christian privilege caused I was coming to terms with the reality that among those who were marginalized by our it was not only Bush and Cheney , not only Christian supremacy. 1 was aware at first that conservative evangelicals, but also / that I did not feel more than an intellectual assent operated in this world with a belief in the to what was being spoken, until one person inherent superiority of my religion. read a statement: "I hate it when Christians It was one thing to recognize that I think that I would be happier if I only believed continued to benefit from the structures of what they believe." I felt my body take a domination that I claimed to oppose. It was defensive position. Somehow I felt accused, another to admit that I maintained those but of what? I had to ask myself, did I think structures with this deep sense of superiority people would be happier if they believed what that I would have told you sincerely that I did I believed? I didn't want to believe that I not possess. Superiority, however well hidden, believed that. It sounded so arrogant and, yes, is still superiority and still imposes in its sense privileged. I lived with this question for weeks of truth and rightness. It is tempting at this until I could admit that yes, in fact, I did believe early stage of Christian privilege work to paint people would be happier if they at least "the problem" relative to Christian privilege in believed in God. As I excavated (Kendall, this country in conservative, evangelical terms. 2006) my beliefs, assumptions, and behaviors, Certainly the Christian right in both its I had to acknowledge that in the past I had theological and political manifestations is an expressed feeling bad for those who didn't easy and often necessary target. But seeing believe. Though perhaps more consciously only this part of the Christian community as tolerant and less conspicuously imposing, I had the problem, would be to make a similar to confront the notion that I really accepted as mistake as locating the problem of racism only tme that my way of believing was superior to in the white South. It does not get at the way others. I had to reckon that I held a deep- in which an inherent religious superiority is down belief that my way was normal, betterl REFLECTIONS - WINTER 2010 141 Confessions of a Christian Supremacist deeply and broadly entrenched in most all ableism, classism, and an anthropocentrism Christian people in this nation. that contributes to the destruction of the earth. A year after this course ended, I was Every one of these categories has been invited to be a facilitator for the next class' undergirded by Christian theological Christian caucus. Halfway into the quarter one justifications. So, it seems even more relevant of the co-facilitators pointed out that I was to call the phenomenon of Christian privilege able to name easily some of the oppressor by this more accurate descriptor named positions I embody and maintain: racist, sexist, Christian supremacy. heterosexist, ableist. Yet she noted that I But the intersectionality of Christian stumbled when I tried to label the oppressor privilege work brings up other complications. group with which I had been selected to While Christian traditions and scriptures have identify for the purposes of the class. This task served as a source of oppression for many of naming had remained unfinished from when groups, they have also served as a source of I was a student in the class the previous year resistance and liberation (Cone, 1990; De La In the week that followed, her question stayed Torre, 2002; Goss, 1993; Schussler Fiorenza, with me. In the middle of the week, I heard a 1995). Christianity was the foundation for the radio commentary reporting on Christian system of slavery in the United States and a fundamentalism in the officer corps of the U.S. justification for racism and imperialism for military, particularly as it plays out in the centuries. Yet it has also been a basis for occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq resistance for Africans and African Americans (Democracy Now!, 2009).
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