Critical Race Theory, a legal concept that unmasks systemic racism, has become a lightning rod—attached uncritically to any discussion of race, white privilege, or racial injustice. What the author calls Critical Race Theology extends this critical lens to examination of the Christian church, to uncover its own complicity in reinforcing racial injustice.
Juan M. Floyd-Thomas is associate professor of African American Religious History at Vanderbilt University Divinity School and Graduate Department of Religion. He is the author of The Origins of Black Humanism and Liberating Black Church History as well as the co-founder and executive board member of the Black Religious Scholars Group (BRSG) and executive director of the Society of Race, Ethnicity, and Religion (SRER).