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During 'Religion of White Rage' panel, professor says 'maybe conservatism' is 'just a euphemism for white supremacy'
Image source: YouTube screenshot

During 'Religion of White Rage' panel, professor says 'maybe conservatism' is 'just a euphemism for white supremacy'

'Religion is a source of connection and community for many Americans; however, it is also the primary motivating factor for the rise of white rage and white supremacist sentiment in the United States,' another professor said

During a recent video panel discussion on "The Religion of White Rage" sponsored by Louisiana State University, a professor on the panel said "maybe conservatism, away from being a financial and economic and political policy, is just a euphemism for white supremacy."

What are the details?

"Race, Religion and the Moment We're In: The Religion of White Rage" aimed to "shed light on the phenomenon of white rage and map out the uneasy relationship between white anxiety, religious fervor, American identity and perceived Black racial progress," Campus Reform said, citing an LSU statement.

Panelist and LSU professor Stephen Finley said in the statement, "Religion is a source of connection and community for many Americans; however, it is also the primary motivating factor for the rise of white rage and white supremacist sentiment in the United States. The Capitol insurrection is the latest example of this. In this episode, we will hone in on this relationship between White apprehension, race and religion, and their subsequent effects on communities of color and the struggle for equality," the outlet noted.

Campus Reform said panelist Biko Gray — a religion professor at Syracuse University — stated during the Feb. 24 event that "maybe conservatism, away from being a financial and economic and political policy, is just a euphemism for white supremacy and its affective variant, white rage."

Gray's statement can be heard in the first part of the video, which can be viewed only on YouTube due to age restrictions.

Lori Martin, a sociology professor at Louisiana State, also was on the panel, the outlet said.

More from Campus Reform:

The event was inspired by a book entitled The Religion of White Rage: Religious Fervor, White Workers and the Myth of Black Racial Progress, which the three academics co-edited. The work argues that "white religious fervor correlates to notions of perceived white loss and perceived black progress." Likewise, the book posits that "it is not economics but religion and race that stand as the primary motivating factors for the rise of white rage and white supremacist sentiment in the United States."

Louisiana state Rep. Ray Garofalo, a Republican, expressed concern about the event, the outlet added — a sentiment that Gray called out during his initial remarks, saying that the panelists are just as critical of liberalism as they are of conservatism.

More from the outlet:

LSU media relations director Ernie Ballard told Campus Reform that forums and discussions hosted by the university do not "represent an official view or statement from the university." Rather, "the overarching goal is to inform and educate students, expose them to new ideas, and teach them critical-thinking skills."

Martin told Campus Reform that anyone "concerned about the discussion" should join it to "hear what we have to say about understanding the linkages between race, religion, and labor." Gray declined to comment. [...]

Campus Reform reached out to Garofalo for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.

Here's another talk on the same topic from late last year from the Harvard Divinity School:

The Religion of White Rageyoutu.be

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