Rusty Hawkins on Why ‘Color-Blind’ Christianity Still Harms Racial Justice

Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: [email protected] 1954, white Southern churches declared that school integration “defied God’s design.” Seven decades later, many of those congregations champion “color-blindness” instead. What changed—and what hasn’t? Historian Rusty Hawkins (Indiana Wesleyan University), co-editor of The Bible Told Them So: How Southern Evangelicals Fought to Preserve White Supremacy, joins Faithful Politics to trace the theological through-line from Jim Crow sermons to modern debates over CRT and DEI. Hawkins explains how pastors and laypeople alike used Scripture to sanctify segregation, then re-branded the same resistance as a fight for “quality education” and “parental choice.” He also argues that today’s church can still become a force for racial reconciliation—if it learns from the prophetic witness of the Black church and rejects power for service. Whether you’re a pastor, activist, or history buff, this conversation equips you with the receipts—and the hope—to confront racism’s religious roots.Guest BioRusty Hawkins is Associate Professor of History at Indiana Wesleyan University, specializing in American religion and race. He co-edited the award-winning The Bible Told Them So and is currently writing a religious biography of Alabama Governor George Wallace. Hawkins’s scholarship appears in Christianity Today, the Journal of Southern Religion, and other outlets, making him a leading voice on how evangelical theology has shaped—and been shaped by—America’s color line. Support Sarah Stankorb’s work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/Support the showKeep the conversation going.Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?Visit our website:faithfulpoliticspodcast.comBrowse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstoreSupport the show and help us keep these conversations going:patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPoliticsSubscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:faithfulpolitics.substack.comContact the hosts:Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: [email protected] Wright, Political Host: [email protected] Faithful Politics:Instagram: faithful_politicsFacebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast