RT Article
T1 God is “color-blind”: The problem of race in a diverse Christian fraternity
JF Critical research on religion
VO 2
IS 3
SP 246
OP 264
A1 Gurrentz, Benjamin T.
LA English
YR 2014
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1752588215
AB The following case study utilizes in-depth qualitative interviews and participant observation data in order to examine how color-blindness operates in a diverse Christian fraternity. The color-blind ideology functions in two distinct ways: to authenticate the fraternity’s collective religious identity as an inclusive Christian community and to obscure within-group racial inequalities reproduced through tokenizing racist jokes aimed at its non-white members. Color-blind statements allow members to attribute their organization’s racial diversity to their accepting religious doctrine, while also making problems of race within the organization difficult to address. This article provides a theoretical contribution by highlighting the dire implications of ignoring race in diverse religious groups, particularly problematic within the “edgy” joking subculture of Christian fraternities.
K1 Christian fraternity
K1 College
K1 color-blind ideology
K1 Inequality
K1 racial diversity
K1 Young adults
DO 10.1177/2050303214552572