Racial Reconciliation in the Church and the Methods and Worldviews Involved

This article was originally featured on ResistanceTV.

We live in a somewhat heated racial climate in America right now.  Because of perceived injustices towards racial minorities in America, people are more loudly and fervently calling for racial reconciliation, relational healing between races.  As Christians, we should be in full support of racial reconciliation because we are all made in the image of God and our faith in Christ brings us together into God’s family.  There are, however, a lot of bumps in the road.  What we often don’t realize is that people adopt different methods of racial reconciliation and that these methods are often based on different worldviews.  When a person who wants racial reconciliation doesn’t adopt a particularmethod of racial reconciliation or does not see the world in the exact way that some activists see it, that person is often condemned as a racist.  While I believe we as Christians should care about racial reconciliation, we need to be clear on what methods are being espoused and the underlying worldviews that influence those methods, otherwise we may unwittingly adopt beliefs that are incompatible with the faith and cause damage.  In the next section, I will give two different resources for Christians to read and explain them.  Christians need to be aware of the methods of racial reconciliation that are proposed and the worldviews that often influence those methods.

Methods

Dr. George Yancey, a sociologist at the University of North Texas, gives a speech at a church on four different methods of racial reconciliation, their pros and cons, and his own method of relational healing between races.  This talk is a condensed version of his book.  Dr. Yancey makes it clear that there are different methods of racial reconciliation that we see espoused in the West (colorblindness, white guilt, multiculturalism, etc.) and that, despite each of them having some positive aspects, they have some major problems too.  He suggests a method that he calls Mutual Responsibility.  When wanting to achieve a great good, it is good to realize that not all ways of achieving that great good are created equal.  We need to think clearly about the methods we are adopting and ought to adopt.

Thinking deeply and critically about methods is one thing, but the methods we adopt are often influenced by our worldviews.  That is where this next resource comes in.

Worldview

Dr. Neil Shenvi, a scientist at Duke University, in his post, A Long Review of Race, Class, and Gender, reviews a book about the inequalities found in society.  He gives the pros and cons of the book, but the most important thing is that he analyzes the philosophy that underlies the viewpoints of all the authors.  Neil reveals that the underlying viewpoint of all the authors in this anthology is critical theory and that critical theory is a worldview.  Neil says that critical theory “often functions as a worldview (that is, as a comprehensive, interpretive framework for understanding reality),” and that the beliefs expressed by the authors are “not a random assortment of disconnected beliefs. Instead, they form a unified, coherent framework for viewing everything about our lives, from our identity, to our fundamental problem (oppression), to our fundamental moral duty (fighting for liberation), to the basis for unity between individuals (common oppression/solidarity).”  The problem with the worldview of critical theory, argues Neil, is that it is incompatible with Christianity in very important and fundamental ways. Many Christians do not realize that some or all of their viewpoints on race and racial reconciliation are based on a worldview that is not compatible with their Christianity.  It is important for Christians to think deeply about their worldview and the worldviews of others so that they can see how they are being affected by the world.  Racial reconciliation is important, but if Neil is right, we should not unwittingly adopt beliefs about racial reconciliation that are based on an incompatible worldview, or at the very least, we shouldn’t adopt those beliefs for the same reasons.  It can affect our faith and our actions.

I hope and pray that these two resources will help people think clearly about this issue and that clear thinking can aid us in finding a good, biblical solution.