The Myth of Colorblind Christians

Powerfully tells the story of how white evangelicals in a post-civil-rights era fashioned an allegedly colorblind evangelicalism ‘in which investments in whiteness continued in the name of spreading the gospel.’ Curtis tells us not so much about white evangelicals familiar from other histories, as about evangelical whiteness, a distinction that makes all the difference in this original and important work. ~Paul Harvey, Distinguished Professor, Presidential Teaching Scholar, University of Colorado

This book shows how platitudes about equality and not seeing racial differences actually perpetuated the segregated and unequal status quo in many white evangelical churches, colleges, and institutions. It is vital reading for understanding just how salient race remains in some Christian circles. This is the book on the history of white evangelicalism I have been waiting for. ~Jemar Tisby, New York Times–bestselling author of The Color of Compromise and How to Fight Racism

Religious history at its best. An immensely clarifying book, it should be required reading for all who seek to understand white evangelicals’ fraught engagement with race over the past half century. ~Kristin Kobes Du Mez, author of Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation

Curtis eschews the world of formal politics and shows how the evangelical gospel of colorblindness was forged in more private spaces: homes, schools, and churches. Particularly interesting is his discussion of how the church growth movement emerged from the context of the civil rights movement. ~Christian Century Book Review

In six tightly paced chapters, plus an introduction and conclusion, Curtis details the origins of evangelical colorblindness and how it manifested itself in the movement’s core institutions… he has written a powerful and provocative book that raises deep questions about the very nature of American evangelicalism. ~Reading Religion