“Jesus Was a White Man Too!”: The Relationship Between Beliefs About Jesus’s Race, Racial Attitudes, and Ideologies That Maintain Racial Hierarchies

Abstract

Historians, Black liberation theologians, and Black/Pan-African nationalists have long argued that individuals’ beliefs regarding Jesus’ race are related to their racial attitudes and ideologies that maintain racial hierarchy. In the current study, we examined the relationship between beliefs about Jesus’ race, racial attitudes, social dominance orientation (SDO), and colorblind racial ideology (CBRI). We found that individuals who believe Jesus is White were higher in both explicit and subtle forms of anti-Black prejudice (i.e., symbolic racism) and had higher feelings of warmth toward White people than individuals who believe Jesus is non-White. In addition, we found that those who believe Jesus is White, versus non-White, had a higher preference for group-based social hierarchy and were more likely to endorse CBRI. Analyses indicated that SDO and CBRI fully mediated the relationship between believing Jesus is White and explicit anti-Black attitudes. The relationship between believing Jesus is White and subtle anti-Black prejudice was also fully mediated by CBRI. These findings advance research on the relationship between religiosity and prejudice by demonstrating that individuals’ racial conceptualizations of religious deities are related to how they feel toward racial groups and the extent to which they endorse ideologies that maintain social hierarchy. Implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed