The Habits of Race and Faith in a Religiously Diverse World

Religious diversity, cultural pluralism, and interreligious encounter are widely viewed in modern life as socially--and for many people of faith, spiritually--enriching. One of the most significant but frequently overlooked benefits of interreligious encounter is that it empowers us to see ourselves, and particularly our racialized identities, in new and revealing ways. In The Habits of Race and Faith in a Religiously Diverse World, Mara Brecht places whiteness under particular scrutiny--its tangled and entwined relationship with religious identity, as well as strategic associations with dominance and privilege. The analysis of whiteness gives way to fresh perspectives on Christian ideas about salvation, both in connection to religious faith and racial embodiment.

Mara Brecht is associate professor of theology at Loyola University Chicago.