Christianity's Collusion with Whiteness: Divine Embodiment in The Shack

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dc.contributor.authorLemons, Elizabeth
dc.date.accessioned2020-10-29T14:42:59Z
dc.date.available2020-10-29T14:42:59Z
dc.date.issued2012-03
dc.description.abstractThe Shack is a story about a Christian man, Mack, who encounters God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit one weekend after experiencing a family tragedy. Mack is surprised to find that each of the characters presents him or herself as a person of color. This seemingly progressive, anti-racist depiction of the trinity was wildly popular among evangelical readers, many of whom gushed that the story is life-changing and faith-renewing. Using feminist scholarship, critical whiteness theory, and a history of Evangelical race relations, this article gives an alternative reading of The Shack, making the argument that the story reifies racist stereotypes and reinstates the authority of the white, male liberal subject. Tracing the influence of Enlightenment discourse on Christian beliefs about bodily transcendence, this article makes the argument that the structures of whiteness are fundamental for American Evangelicalism's culture and theology. Ultimately, The Shack is an exploratory story about racial reconciliation within the evangelical community; however, The Shack does not challenge the popular evangelical conception that racism is nothing more than conflict between individuals on the basis of racial stereotypes. The Shack continues to ignore the structural privileging of whiteness, colluding with racist systems by ultimately failing to undermine them.
dc.formatText
dc.format.extent22 pages
dc.format.medium1 file (.pdf)
dc.identifier.citationLemons, E. (2012). Christianity's collusion with whiteness: Divine embodiment in The Shack. <i>Journal of Research on Women and Gender, 3</i>(1), pp. 52-73.
dc.identifier.issn2375-0944
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10877/12855
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherTexas State University, Center for Diversity and Gender Studies
dc.sourceJournal of Research on Women and Gender, 2012, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 52-73.
dc.subjectChristianity
dc.subjectwhiteness theory
dc.subjecttheology
dc.subjectthe shack
dc.titleChristianity's Collusion with Whiteness: Divine Embodiment in The Shack
dc.typeArticle

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