The Bible Told Them So

How Southern Evangelicals Fought to Preserve White Supremacy

By: J. Russell Hawkins

Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain

Why did southern white evangelical Christians resist the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s? Simply put, they believed the Bible told them so. These white Christians entered the battle certain that God was on their side. Ultimately, the civil rights movement triumphed in the 1960s and fundamentally transformed American society. But this victory did little to change southern white evangelicals' theological commitment to segregation. Rather than abandoning their segregationist theology, white evangelicals turned their focus on institutions they still controlled and fought on.

Focusing on the case of South Carolina, The Bible Told Them So shows how, despite suffering defeat in the public sphere, white evangelicals continued to battle for their own institutions, preaching and practicing a segregationist Christianity they continued to believe reflected God's will. Increasingly caught in the tension between their sincere belief that God desired segregation and their reluctance to give voice to such ideas for fear of being perceived as bigoted or intolerant, by the late 1960s southern white evangelicals embraced the rhetoric of colorblindness and protection of the family as measures to maintain both segregation and respectable social standing. This strategy set southern white evangelicals on an alternative path for race relations in the decades ahead.

©2021 Oxford University Press (P)2022 Tantor

Rotation

This book is on my rotation to read annually. As I observe current events I will need to revisit ideas like forming individual relationships are no substitute for addressing systemic wrongs.

Well damn.

I loved this book. It’s a well written and thoughtful expose of the systemic racism still prevalent in America today. More evidence that there is much to do and more I need to do.

Every Christian should read.

I felt there were times concepts were repetitive when the point was made. I was confused if I had restarted a chapter.

Very informative

A must read for an student of American Church History and/or the history of race in America.

A must read

I just finished the audiobook and I can’t stop thinking about it. Hawkins traces how theology was used to defend segregation: how biblical arguments were shaped not only by white Christian leaders but by the demands and fears of the white congregations they served. It wasn’t just a few pastors misusing scripture; it was entire churches, entire communities, using faith as justification for maintaining separation.

It’s a hard listen but an essential one, because knowing our history is the first step to recognizing the patterns that persist. Much of the coded language developed during that era, talk of “protecting traditions,” “local control,” and “individual rights” is still used today, just dressed in new, more respectable words.

Near the end of the book, Hawkins discusses how “colorblindness” became (and remains) a kind of plausible deniability:

“Colorblindness functions as a shield, allowing people to claim they see no race and therefore cannot be racist, while leaving intact the very systems that sustain racial inequality.”

That line reminds me how easily comfort can disguise itself as righteousness.

This history isn’t something to turn away from, it’s something to learn from. Because faith should never be used to shape our laws or limit other’s freedom.

If you’re interested in the intersection of religion, race, and American identity, this book is eye-opening, unsettling, and absolutely worth your time.