Religion is more dangerous than Alcohol.
Winston Churchill is quoted as saying, “I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober, but you will still be ugly.” While this statement was mean to whomever it was meant for, it resonates with what misguided religion does, It is far better to be drunk with alcohol than religion because “the alcoholic will be sober in the morning, but the religious drunk will not.” McWhorter, a Linguistic professor at Columbia University, writes about the religion that has become antiracism in his book, “Woke Racism.”[1] America always gets more publicity on racism than any other nation, probably because it is also considered a superpower that should be a model for other nations. Racism in America is one of the biggest moral failures and depicts the failure of capitalism and the epitome of greed. W.E.B DuBois is quoted as saying,
“Racism in the US had settled deeply in the economics, politics, and culture of the US since its inception. It had adjusted itself to capitalism and vice-versa. Their interdependence or partnership was deeply structured. Thus, for example, US capitalism could use racism to solve the problems of two of its worst features: instability and inequality. The business cycles ever besetting capitalism threatened the working class with periodic unemployment, poverty, etc. That constant threat- as well as the recurring downturns, themselves-risked provoking working-class opposition to capitalism as a system. Racism facilitated offloading instability’s risks and costs onto the African-American community that was last hired and first fired. A large part of the white population could thus escape capitalism’s instability or suffer less. Racist arguments then blamed African-Americans for unemployment and poverty by contrasting it with most whites. Racism and capitalism reinforced one another in this way.”[2][3]
Racism is terrible and should be fought to its complete elimination or as much as possible. McWhorter explains three waves of antiracism, the first being abolition of slavery and the toppling of segregation, the second wave being the realignment of social attitudes, and the third wave being woke racism which has become like a religion. He describes how this religion works, from the original sin of ‘white privilege’ and weaponization of cancel culture to ban heretics to the evangelical fervor of the ‘woke mob.’ [4] McWhorter shows how this third wave of ‘antiracism’ that claims to ‘dismantle racist structures’ harms African-Americans by infantilizing black people, setting up black students for failure, and putting policies in place that disproportionately damage black communities. H essentially states that this ‘antiracism’ actually features a racial essentialism that is hard to distinguish from racist arguments of the past.
The effect of this new religion of antiracism is to reinforce the ‘guilt’ of the white privilege and the victimhood of people of color and does not help in dealing with it. As a Christian Leader in a faith-based organization, I thought about the effect of this new religion on the American missionaries that work alongside our Kenyan staff. The interesting thing is that Kenyans are very hospitable to white Americans, and there is no tension between them, and neither do issues of race arise. The Kenyan staff has no idea of what woke racism dynamics play in the US, but this is an interesting cross-cultural consideration that I should be aware of as we lead in growing our US support office. Though I did not complete reading the book, it is an eye-opener for me and an addition to my library for reference as I work closely with our staff in our Phoenix support office. As a Christian leader, it is my role to bring peace between the people and direct them to Christ, who has set us free to serve Him regardless of our race, gender, and other differences. The Bible declares in Romans 10:12, “For there is no Jew or Greek: for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; and again in Colossians 3: 11, “ a renewal in which there is no distinction between the Greek and the Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and free, but Christ is all, and in all.” Racism has beneficiaries who will protect it and ensure its perpetuity. As Christian leaders, we have to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, a city built on a hill that cannot be hidden by being true examples of loving all men as Christ has commanded us.
[1] McWhorter, John. “Woke Racism: How a New Religion has Betrayed Black America. (London, UK. Portifolio, 2021).
[2] DuBois, W. E. B. The Souls of Black Folk. (Chicago, Illinois, USA. A. C. McClung & Co., 1903)
[3] DuBois, W. E.B. (1868-1963) was an African-American sociologist, civil rights activist, and author. He was one of the founding members of the NAACP, and he is well known for believing on full civil rights and disagreeing with Booker T. Washington’s argument that blacks remain subservient. His most famous book, The Souls of Black Folk, defines the term “double-consciousness” and remains a cornerstone of African-American literature.
[4] DuBois, W. E. B., The Souls of Black Folk, 1903.
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