PART 2: Lunch & Learn with Dr. J. Cody Nielsen on the History of Racism through the Lens of American Religion

White Christianity becomes hegemonic, privilege, and supremacist

When Charlemagne established the first kingship in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire in the year 800, it was done as a negotiation because the Papacy of the now powerful Roman Catholic Church and the military and feudal powers in Europe. Quickly, Charlemagne began a campaign of forced conversion of much of the European continent, and as kingdoms were established and feudalism became the predominant structure of life in Europe. Being Christian was privileged and dominant. 

This session explores how Europe’s supremacy of Christianity becomes entwined with empire and later capitalism, colonialism, and what would become of the push to establish territory in the “New World.”

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/7114078039

Learn more: https://wmich.edu/walkerinstitute/lnl-nielsen