The Deep Roots of Racism in the Christian Church

Robert P. Jones and Greg Garrett, both keen observers of religion and culture, will explore the topic The Deep Roots of Racism in the Christian Church at a series of events at Wilshire in April. 

On Saturday, April 13, Jones and Garrett will be featured in dialogue at 3 p.m. in the Sanctuary. Copies of their books will be available for purchase, and the first 25 people to arrive for the 3 p.m. session will receive one free book from each author. The 3 p.m. talk will be livestreamed on Wilshire’s YouTube channel and will be available to watch later.

Garrett will preach in worship Sunday, April 14, and after the service all are invited to Community Hall, where Jones, Garrett and Senior Pastor Timothy Peoples will participate in a live Baptist News Global webinar hosted by BNG executive director and Wilshire member Mark Wingfield. Lunch will be provided at no cost. The webinar will start at 12:30 p.m. and run 60 to 75 minutes.

Childcare will be provided by reservation for the Sunday lunch and webinar. Register for childcare here.

If you won’t be at Wilshire Sunday but wish to participate in the webinar, sign up via the link found in this BNG announcement.

Robert P. Jones is the president and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to driving conversations at the intersection of religion, culture and politics. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future (2023), White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity (a 2021 American Book Award winner) and The End of White Christian America (2016). Jones writes regularly for outlets such as The Atlantic, Time and Religion News Service. 

Greg Garrett is the Carole McDaniel Hanks Professor of Literature and Culture at Baylor University. One of America’s leading voices on religion and culture, his most recent book is The Gospel According to James Baldwin: What America’s Great Prophet Can Teach Us about Life, Love, and Identity. Garrett is currently writing a book on racial mythologies for Oxford University Press. A seminary-trained Episcopal lay preacher, he is canon theologian in residence at the American Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Paris. Garrett preached at Wilshire in 2020 and 2022.