Blacks and Whites in Christian America

Jason E. Shelton (Author) Jason E. Shelton is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for African American Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington and the author of Blacks and Whites in Christian America: How Racial Discrimination Shapes Religious Convictions.Michael Oluf Emerson (Author) Michael Oluf Emerson is Provost and Professor of Urban Studies at North Park University in Chicago, and a Kinder Fellow at Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research. He has authored or co-authored fifteen books, including Divided By Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America, Transcending Racial Barriers, and Against All Odds: The Struggle for Racial Integration in Religious Organizations (NYU Press, 2005).

• Preface: Religion and Race 1 Why Do African Americans Pray So Often? 2 So Rooted a Past: Slavery and African American Protestant Religious Tradition 3 The Apostles' Creed: Racial Similarities in Commitments to Core Christian Tenets 4 Learning and Burning: Racial Diff erences in "Academic" versus "Experiential" Models of Christianity 5 Religious Convictions: Everyday Faith-Based Actions and Beliefs 6 Shaded Morality: Not So Black and White 7 Far-Reaching Faith: Evidence of an Inclusive Religious Doctrine 8 Reconciling the Race Problem: Identity Politics and the Gulf between Black and White Protestants Epilogue: Th e Race Problem and Beloved Community Appendix A: Sampling Procedures / Sample Characteristics Appendix B: Descriptive TablesAppendix C: Interview Guides Notes ReferencesIndexAbout the Authors

"Blacks and Whites in Christian America is an excellent contribution to the study of race and religion...Shelton and Emerson have written an accessible and informative book that is suitable for multiple audiences, including undergraduate and graduate students, scholars of religion or race, and church leaders and attendees. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in theology, religious studies, or race relations." - Kendra Barber (Religious Research Association Review) "[T]he research is solid and grounded in accepted sociological theory. Moreover, Blacks and Whites in Christian Americais accessible to non-social scientists, which makes it an important read for those involved in interdisciplinary studies." - Bryan F. Le Beau (American Studies) "I strongly recommend Blacks and Whites in Christian America: How Racial Discrimination Shapes Religious Convictions. This is a rigorous study of race as a source of intragroup differences among Protestants and is a must read for anyone interested in the intersections of race, religion, and inequality in America." - Ryon J. Cobb (Sociology of Religion) "What separates this book from previous research is the careful attention that the authors pay to questions of Why? or What does it mean? when presenting these research findings." - Eric Tranby (American Journal of Sociology) "This is a book about the religion of a people whose 'back is against the wall,' to quote Howard Thurmond, the African American theologian. Shelton and Emerson show how blacks, from slavery down to the present, have re-envisioned Christianitya religion that was once used to give moral legitimacy to slaveryinto a faith that has provided meaning, inspiration, and hope as they struggle to affirm their humanity and achieve racial justice." - Stephen Steinberg,Distinguished Professor of Urban Studies, Queens College "Blacks and Whites in Christian America is a major sociological examination of religion and race.Jason Shelton and Michael Emerson carefully document and analyze differences between black and white Americans in how they practice and express their Christian faith.They identify the enduring ways that the tragic American habit of racial oppression and privilege has worked to create a distinctive black sacred cosmos.With excellent national survey data and powerful supplemental interviews, they show the key building blocks and dynamics of the racialized religious experience in America.This book is a must read for anyone serious about understanding the interplay of race, religion, and American character." - Lawrence D. Bobo,W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of Social Sciences, Harvard "This book is written in such a way that it is suitable for multiple audiences, with the more complex discussions of multivariate relationships largely available online or upon request. This work can fit well under multiple course offerings, including sociology of religion, culture, and race, as well as religious studies, ethics, theology, ethnic studies, and African-American studies. Undergraduate students will find this work engaging and illuminating. Graduate students in sociology will find this especially useful for its attention to detail, mixed-method approach, and substantive contributions for further hypothesis testing." (Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion) "This book will prove to be required reading for those that seek to comprehend the nuances in why religion and 'race' have historically created and shaped an outcome that now distinguishes different form of Christianity." (Choice)