Religion and the Creation of Race and Ethnicity is the first collection devoted to demonstrating the role that religion and myth have played in the creation of the categories of "race" and "ethnicity." When scholars approach religion and race, they tend to focus on such issues as how African Americans have expressed Christianity, or how Japanese or Mexicans have lived "religiously." This volume, meant specifically for those new to the field, brings together an ensemble of prominent scholars and illuminates instead the role religious myths have played in shaping those very social boundaries that we call "races" and "ethnicities." It asks, what part did Christianity play in creating "Blackness"? To what extent was Japanese or Mexican identity itself the product of religious life? The text, comprised of all original material, introduces readers to the social construction of race and ethnicity and the ways in which these concepts are shaped by religious narratives. It offers examples from both the U.S. and around the world, exploring these themes in the context of places as diverse as Bosnia, India, Japan, Mexico, Zimbabwe, and the Middle East. The volume helps make the case that any account of the social construction of race and ethnicity will be incomplete if it fails to consider the influence of religious traditions and myths. Contributors include Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Joel Martin, Jacob Neusner, Roberto S. Goizueta, Laurie Patton, and Michael A. Sells.
Introduction: Craig R. Prentiss1 "A Servant of Servants Shall He Be": The Construction of Race in American Religious Mythologies: Paul Harvey2 Myth and African American Self-Identity: Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.3 Almost White: The Ambivalent Promise of Christian Missions among the Cherokees: Joel Martin4 Indigenous Identity and Story: The Telling of Our Part in the Sacred Homeland: Nimachia Hernandez5 Jew and Judaist, Ethnic and Religious: How They Mix in America: Jacob Neusner6 Blackness in the Nation of Islam: Aminah McCloud7 Theologizing Race: The Construction of "Christian Identity": Douglas Cowan8 "Loathsome unto Thy People": The Latter-day Saints and Racial Categorization: Craig Prentiss9 Our Lady of Guadalupe: The Heart of Mexican Identity: Roberto Goizueta10 Myths, Shinto, and Matsuri in the Shaping of Japanese Cultural Identity: John Nelson11 Islam, Arabs, and Ethnicity: Azzam Tamimi12 Cosmic Men and Fluid Exchanges: Myths of A-rya,Varn* a, and Ja-ti in the Hindu Tradition: Laurie Patton13 Religious Myth and the Construction of Shona Identity: Chirevo Kwenda14 Sacral Ruins in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Mapping Ethnoreligious Nationalism: Michael Sells
