A Cure for Original Sin? Southern Baptists and Race 1970-1999: A Study of a Race Relations Sunday Institutional Initiative
| dc.contributor.author | McGlamery, Steven M. | en |
| dc.contributor.committeechair | Brunsma, David L. | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Graves, Ellington T. | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Reed, Wornie L. | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Reichelmann, Ashley Veronica | en |
| dc.contributor.department | Sociology | en |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-03-29T08:00:08Z | en |
| dc.date.available | 2022-03-29T08:00:08Z | en |
| dc.date.issued | 2022-03-28 | en |
| dc.description.abstract | Race and Christianity are inseparably intertwined in the U.S., past and present. While there has been much scholarship at this intersection recently, this study focuses on less explored areas: the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)--the largest U.S. Protestant denomination, and the somewhat neglected period between 1970-2000. The objective: ascertain how Southern Baptist leadership attempted to address the "problem" of race during this period. Of special significance is the transition during these years from more moderate/conservative leadership to a Fundamentalist/Conservative regime. This study focuses in particular on the Race Relations Sunday (RRS) initiative promoted and observed annually by Southern Baptists beginning in 1965. I accessed archives of the RRS materials and used a grounded theory method approach to analyze the content of these documents. After hundreds of documents had been coded and analyzed, I found that: 1) the SBC saw individual-level sin as the primary cause of racism and racial inequality throughout the 30 years, but there was also some expression of institutionally embedded causes earlier on—a focus that became almost non-existent by the 1990s; 2) the way the SBC tried to diversify changed as the decades passed, from attempts to integrate churches or create multiracial churches to recruiting or creating majority non-white churches; 3) the pursuit of individual- and small group-level racial reconciliation was evident and pronounced throughout the thirty years; an alternate solution calling on white people to pay the price of giving up their unjust privileges and advantages was found somewhat in the earlier years, but nearly disappeared in the later years; 4) "Observing" Race Relations Sunday became less about concrete action, and changed into a more passive, positive public relations effort as time went on; 5) The goal or hoped-for outcome was "improved race relations" all along, with the colorblind approach coming to more prominence as the years passed; a parallel emphasis on establishing justice and equality was apparent in earlier years, but less so in later years. I take up the problem of defining "the race problem" for the SBC and our society in the concluding chapter. | en |
| dc.description.abstractgeneral | This study focuses on Southern Baptists--the largest U.S. Protestant denomination, and their attempts to address racial issues through observance of a "Race Relations Sunday" initiative. Of special significance is the transition during the years studied (1970-2000) from more moderate/conservative leadership to fundamentalist/ conservative leadership. The annual Race Relations Sunday materials were coded and analyzed. The findings included that the race-centered focus was primarily on individual-level sin throughout the 30 years, with whatever focus on society-wide issues fading over the years. Also, the SBC stopped focusing so much on integrating or creating multiracial churches and turned the focus to majority non-white churches joining the denomination.; individual racial reconciliation was a focus throughout; any expectation that whites pay a price to make things right nearly disappears in the later years. Race Relations Sunday became less about community action and more about passive, positive public relations. And an ill-defined hope to "improve race relations" became the almost sole focus as earlier concern for justice and equality faded. The problem of defining "the race problem" is taken up in the concluding chapter. | en |
| dc.description.degree | Doctor of Philosophy | en |
| dc.format.medium | ETD | en |
| dc.identifier.other | vt_gsexam:33991 | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10919/109475 | en |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.publisher | Virginia Tech | en |
| dc.rights | In Copyright | en |
| dc.rights.uri | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ | en |
| dc.subject | race | en |
| dc.subject | religion | en |
| dc.subject | Southern Baptists | en |
| dc.title | A Cure for Original Sin? Southern Baptists and Race 1970-1999: A Study of a Race Relations Sunday Institutional Initiative | en |
| dc.type | Dissertation | en |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Sociology | en |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | en |
| thesis.degree.level | doctoral | en |
| thesis.degree.name | Doctor of Philosophy | en |