018 The Racist American Context the Church was Born Into
Jul 4, 2023
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This podcast delves into the racial climate in America during the founding of the church, exploring the racist views held by prominent figures like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. It discusses the influence of science, scripture, and misinterpretation on racial prejudices, debunking misconceptions around biblical texts. The podcast emphasizes the need to understand the historical context of the church's establishment, including the discriminatory practices towards black Africans.
Understanding the discriminatory practices in the church's history requires acknowledging the prevailing racial attitudes and beliefs in America at the time.
The prevalence of African enslavement, prevailing scientific thought, and the interpretation of scripture were major factors contributing to racial prejudice among church members.
Deep dives
Racial Prejudice in Early Church History
The podcast episode explores the prevalent racial prejudice that existed during the early history of the church. It acknowledges the discriminatory practices and beliefs towards black African ancestry in the church's past, which were influenced by the prevailing racial attitudes in America at the time. These discriminatory practices are considered one of the most challenging aspects of the church's history. The episode emphasizes the importance of understanding the broader cultural context and the three major factors that contributed to the racial climate in America: African enslavement, prevailing scientific thought, and the interpretation of scripture. The episode highlights how these factors influenced the views and actions of church members, and sets the stage for future discussions on the race and priesthood topic.
Understanding African Enslavement
The prevalence of African enslavement in America played a significant role in the development of racial prejudice. The episode highlights the transatlantic slave trade, which introduced millions of Africans into the new world and perpetuated the institution of slavery. It explains that while views on slavery varied among white Americans, the belief in the inherent inferiority of black Africans became customary. The episode also touches on the tensions and debates between pro-slavery, anti-slavery, and abolitionist groups, as well as the concerns over racial amalgamation. It emphasizes that the enslavement of black Africans contributed to the normalization of racial prejudice among white Americans and influenced the views of church members.
The Influence of Prevailing Scientific Thought
The podcast episode explores how prevailing scientific thought influenced racial prejudice in America. It highlights the widely accepted belief among white Americans that black people were inherently inferior to white people. This belief was supported by erroneous scientific claims that included smaller brain size, greater primitiveness, and inferiority in various aspects. This pseudo-scientific justification for racial prejudice allowed white Americans to accept their supposed superiority to black Africans. The episode underscores how the acceptance of these scientific theories further ingrained racial prejudice into the society and influenced the views of church members.
The Interpretation of Scriptures on Race
The interpretation of biblical passages also played a role in justifying racial prejudice. The episode focuses on two specific narratives: the curse of Cain and the curse of Ham. It explains that some white Christians believed that black Africans were descendants of Cain or Ham, and that their dark skin was a mark of God's curse. This interpretation was used to rationalize the enslavement of black Africans as a divine mandate, and to affirm the perceived superiority of white Christians. The episode emphasizes that these interpretations were based on cultural assumptions rather than the actual biblical texts. It highlights how these flawed interpretations affected the understanding and treatment of black Africans among white Christians, including early church members.
There was a season in our Church’s history when members with black African ancestry were unevenly barred from both priesthood and temple privileges. This overtly discriminatory practice is one of the most challenging aspects of our history and, for many, is one of the most difficult to understand. How could something like this happen in a Church led by living prophets and apostles? It’s a fair question. And the truth is, the answer is impossible to really get at without understanding the prevailing attitudes and beliefs about black Africans in the broader American culture at the time the Church was established and into the century that followed.
In this episode of Church History Matters, we begin our series on Race and Priesthood by exploring the racial climate in antebellum America in the 1800’s and probing the three major factors responsible for how it got that way.
