The Sins of White Supremacy Culture
I have growing concerns about my church.
For a while, this church was the organizing center around which my entire life revolved: spiritually, socially, even professionally. For a few years, I was hired as an assistant pastor to help the church grow during a fruitful season when it seemed like the whole town was interested in what our congregation was doing. People are drawn to an expression of Christianity that is both aesthetic and intimate, inviting yet demanding, creative yet unpretentious. We attract a diverse group of college and graduate students who make up almost half of our community, and our outreach programs are very focused on building connections within the immediate community, such as art clubs for minority kids and Mentoring program for refugee families. I had truly believed that I would die in this church community and base my entire ministry career here.
But that was before the senior pastor presented us with a new “vision.” He moved our headquarters from the city center to a new location off the highway, which was isolated from the local population. Support for college students was reduced and instead priority was given to young white suburban families commuting from outside the city. As demographics change, the makeup of our ministry leaders and volunteer coordinators is changing rapidly. I quickly became the only person of color in any leadership position and was appalled by the regression in the cultural makeup of the community. For many years we have proudly considered ourselves a multicultural reflection of the early New Testament church, but it would now seem ridiculous to call ourselves such a church. After years of success fostered by our diverse resources, we are now a white church.
I sent the senior pastor an email expressing my reservations and emphasizing how terrible it felt to be a token minority. I don’t want my presence to give the illusion of inclusivity when policy is clearly moving in the opposite direction. As a former staff member, I encourage pastors to do some self-reflection and try to develop long-term strategies to make people from other cultures feel like they have a place here. There is reason to believe that there were once so many young people who were excited to be part of this community, and I hope that the church will return to those principles of openness, equality, and collaboration. I told myself it was still possible.
But as I read the pastor’s response, I finally realized that nothing was going to change—because I understood that what I was dealing with was a culture of white supremacy. My suggestions are not taken as seriously as they once were, even though I have always cared deeply about the vitality of our community and they have always been accepted in the past. This time, however, I was harshly reprimanded and classified as a provocateur. Suddenly I was the bad guy. In the senior pastor's mind, a good group should be obedient and "easy to lead," but now I have become a suspicious outsider, sowing the seeds of discord. He said my words were "full of distrust" and that if I couldn't give the elders complete, unadulterated blind trust, then the problem was with me and my theology. And, of course, there’s a bit of “mental manipulation” [1]. My feelings about token minority status don’t matter because it makes the pastor feel “insulted” who prides himself on choosing leaders based on character. "Skin color is not a factor," he wrote, which made the alarm bells ring even louder in my head. After this exchange, my wife and I were invited to continue the discussion face-to-face with the elders, an invitation we were more than willing to accept. We thought that with the participation of more thoughtful voices, we could foster a more productive discussion about how to move toward a multicultural leadership model…but it turned out to be a bait-and-switch tactic. The pastor held this "disciplinary hearing," and we could tell from his tone that he was ready to kick us out of the church if we didn't plead hard for forgiveness.
很多人都和我當時一樣,身陷於白人至上文化而不自知——似乎沒有人會注意到,直到事情出了問題。有人可能會認為指控白人至上主義過於嚴厲且毫無根據,因為沒有任何會眾會自願承認自己是精英主義和壓迫性機構。然而,白人至上文化是另一回事:文化是無所不在的、潛意識的,如果不加以命名,會變得陰險狡詐。我希望當時我能有這樣的語言來揭露白人至上文化如何以種種暗中手段破壞了我們所謂的以福音為基礎的生活方式。但我現在至少可以分享我所學到的經驗[2],讓其他人比我當時更有能力在選擇誰來賦予屬靈權威時做出健康的選擇。
Simply put, white supremacy culture is an ideology that views white people and their thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors as superior to people of color and their thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors. If you're not sure whether your church culture is based on the principles of white supremacy, here are four key characteristics you need to be wary of:
1. Expectations of perfectionism
Churches that expect perfectionism are often highly hierarchical and authority-driven, with the most important decisions being made from the top down, not the bottom up. There is often only "one right way to do it," and this approach is often stubborn to the point of dogmatism. Communities have difficulty learning from their mistakes because perfectionism creates a constant worry about underperforming and "looking consistent" with gospel cleanliness and decency. Individual actions are scrutinized while collective growth is ignored. The senior pastor is seen as a model of moral perfection, to whom all others are held to be the standard.
2. Concentration of power
Decision-making power is concentrated in the hands of the top, even to the point where suggestions for change are seen as threatening or even unbiblical. Patriarchy is rampant and leaders insist they know what is best for everyone, often making decisions without consulting those most affected by policy decisions. Elders and pastors spend a lot of energy on defensive postures, such as explaining abuse and limiting ways people might feel heard.
3. Happy Majority/Silent Compliance
A community dominated by the privileged will try to avoid open conflict and run away from issues that feel uncomfortable or are too complex. Whenever minorities reveal discriminatory practices, they are often the target of investigations and accused of being troublemakers. Honest inquiries often fail to lead to a meaningful examination of organizational shortcomings. Leaders will win debates by claiming a superior point of view of "objectivity," contrasting their supposedly neutral approach with the mood swings of minority protesters. Changes are often temporary solutions designed to temporarily appease church members so that procedures can "get back on track."
4. Progress is more/greater
Church growth is measured in quantitative terms (membership and giving), while pastors ironically preach from the pulpit about the importance of qualitative growth (discipleship and faithfulness). Under the capitalist assumption that “bigger is better,” church workers feel a constant sense of urgency to produce visible results—making it difficult for them to spend time becoming more inclusive or improving their decision-making processes. Burnout is common due to an underlying pressure and ambition on everyone's part to expect the church to appear more "successful."
A cursory look at the biblical narrative arc makes it easy to see that expectations of perfectionism, concentration of power, pandering to the majority, and desire for material success are completely contrary to the ways of Jesus. There are so many verses in the Bible that serve as counterexamples that I can’t list them all here, so I’ll just end with this: Luke 12:2 says, “Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed.”
白人至上文化在教會中長期存在的部分原因,是因為它的輪廓長期未被揭示,隱藏在宗教虔誠的假象下。我希望揭露白人至上文化的罪惡,能喚醒我的弟兄姐妹們,讓他們能夠以更好的方式在21世紀活出神的國度。但即使在隱藏的事物曝光之後,真誠的基督徒仍然常常選擇留在他們所處的壓迫性機構中,因為他們說服自己外面沒有更好的地方,或者認為神已經指定他們留下來,成為某種解決方案的一部分。我有許多不快樂的朋友選擇了這條路。對所有希望像耶穌一樣生活的人來說,對抗壓迫是一個值得的呼召,但請不要犯把敵人與朋友混淆的錯誤。你不能從那些正在傷害你屬靈身份的人中獲得情感支持和勇氣。永生的泉源(約翰福音 4:14)不會來自於被石油污染的土地。找到那些會愛你並接受你不完美的神的子民;那些願意犧牲特權和財物的神的子民;那些心中擁有超自然平安的神的子民,因為他們深刻理解進步不是更大或更好——進步是一粒芥菜種。當我們都找到彼此時,那時看不見的基督的身體才會顯現出來。
Scott lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and writes and teaches, focusing on providing literacy education to underserved populations. Scott is a former medical student, former pastor, and now a cat dad.
參考文獻:
[1] "Gaslighting Effect" is a term based on the 1944 film in which a man manipulates his wife by making her question her perception of reality.
[2] The following list is adapted from the Montreal Center for Community Organizing’s White Supremacy Culture in Organizations workbook.
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