Religion Is Not Done with You: Or, the Hidden Power of Religion on Race, Maps, Bodies, and Law

Religion shapes virtually all “systems and structures” underpinning society, from the courts to foodways to medical rights, contend Keeping It 101 podcasters Goodwin (Abusing Religion) and Morgenstein Fuerst (Words of Experience) in this stimulating treatise. Unpacking “how certain ways of being in the world came to be called ‘religious,’” they trace how constellations of “ideologies, rituals, customs, cultures, languages, even ethnicities and races” solidified into discrete “religions” in the early modern period, as imperialist forces spread Christianity to “uncivilized” nations and began to more clearly classify what counted as faith to consolidate influence, reach, and resources. The authors then explore how white Christianity helps to enshrine America’s “imperial agenda” (one can have “absolutely zero interest in religion and still not have sovereignty over your own body because of white Christian nationalist sexual ethics”) and discriminatory laws (they point to “decades of religio-racist policies” targeting Muslim Americans at airports, later “justified” by 9/11). Astutely drawing out religion’s intimate links to power without painting it as inherently harmful—it’s also been used by adherents to “resist and survive”—the authors perceptively reveal the way morals and norms gain credence when codified as faith, influencing even the most private choices. This is sure to spark debate. (Nov.)