Righting America

A forum for scholarly conversation about Christianity, culture, and politics in the US
White Jesus | Righting America

EricTales: The Story behind the Metaxas Word Salad

by Camille Kaminski Lewis Camille Kaminski Lewis is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. She holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University in Rhetorical Studies with a minor in American Studies. Her...

The Christian Right and the Decline of White Evangelicalism

by William Trollinger Update: This post is republished over at Red Letter Christians on July 30, 2021. A participant in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol poses with a Bible. Image credit: John Minchillo/AP via Word and Way . The headlines tell the...

Flags, Snakes, Jesus, and Insurrection

by Rodney Kennedy Rodney Kennedy has his M.Div. from New Orleans Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in Rhetoric from Louisiana State University. The pastor of 7 Southern Baptist churches over the course of 20 years, he pastored the First Baptist Church of Dayton (OH)...

Getting Educated on Faith, Race, and Power at a Christian College

by Kelsey Lahr Kelsey Lahr is a communication professor at Los Angeles Pacific University. Her scholarly interests include climate change communication and environmental rhetorics. She also works summers as a seasonal Ranger in Yosemite National Park. Her writing...

Cheap Grace: White Evangelicals and the Matter of Race

by William Trollinger There’s no getting around it. White evangelicalism has a race problem. And some white evangelicals are getting the message. So it is that some Westmont College students are agitating for the removal of the “white Jesus” in the campus...

White Jesus at Westmont College: The Controversy

by William Trollinger Image of Jesus from the Nancy Voskuyl Prayer Chapel at Westmont College. Photo courtesy of The Horizon Last weekend Sue and I were at Westmont College (Montecito CA) for the 18th annual Conversation on the Liberal Arts. The theme of this year’s...