Combatting White Christian Supremacy in Higher Education Research, Policy, and Practices

Abstract

White Christian supremacy, by definition an intersectional system of oppression, has influenced all aspects of American society since the time before the country's founding, as it was used to justify the stealing of native lands through colonization and the enslavement of African peoples. White Christian supremacist influences persist today, even on public college and university campuses. The author examined current religious holiday accommodation policies at 36 institutions of varied types and geographic locations, finding that most require students to disclose their marginalized religious identities to their (typically Christian) professors in order to receive needed accommodations. In addition, many policies provide no method for appeal if those professors do not approve students' requests, leaving students to make difficult choices between their academic success and identity-based observances - choices that Christian students will likely never have to make. Unfortunately, many studies on college students' religious, secular, and spiritual identities (RSSIs) have not been framed with an understanding of the white Christian supremacist nature of society or college campuses.