PART 3: Lunch & Learn with Dr. J. Cody Nielsen on the History of Racism through the Lens of American Religion

Racism, Religion, and the American Culture

When the Doctrine of Discovery was established by Papal edict in 1493 (only a year after Columbus apparently discovered America) it was done so as a pragmatic way in which to prevent the global powers, especially Portugal and Spain, from going to war over land rights. But it also reinforced and ignited what would become the African slave trade, a theologically legitimized pathway to build the new societies that would be established across this new continent. This session explores the establishment of American culture, including but not limited to the United States, and the ways in which Christianity and Christian missionaries narrated a permissible colonialism and racialization of those who they considered “savages.” 

This session also explores the ways in which this permeates still today in our society.

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

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