‘Christian Slavery’ Explains Origins of Whiteness Rooted in Religion

FEATURING KATHARINE GERBNER – White supremacy has seen a major resurgence in the US linked to the political rise of Donald Trump. It is a notion deeply tied to the origins of a country founded on the genocide of indigenous people and the enslavement of Africans.

Now a new book points out that the idea of whiteness as a tangible concept originated from religion – who was allowed to be Christian and free, and especially who was allowed to exercise political power and democratic freedoms, defined the idea of whiteness.

In Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World, author Katharine Gerbner traces that history, offering a framework for today’s white supremacist resurgence.

Katharine Gerbner, teaches history at the University of Minnesota, author of Christian Slavery: Conversion and Race in the Protestant Atlantic World.

**This interview was originally broadcast on August 14, 2018.