The Problem With “Racism” and Some Common Ethnic Sins

There are a number of problems with the term “racism.” First, as I mentioned, “race” as we know it is not a biblical category. In saying that, I’m not saying that “racism” doesn’t exist. I’m saying that we can be more biblical in how we discuss what we mean when we say “racism.” The term “racism” is already loaded with unbiblical assumptions. I don’t think Christians should surrender to the culture by embracing terms that are embedded with faulty frameworks. Second, the term “racism,” as used in common parlance, is so broad that it can say too little and too much simultaneously.

So for instance, many people, when they hear “racism,” think Ku Klux Klan and Dylann Roof, the White nationalist who murdered nine Black church members at a Bible study in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015. That is, “racism” is conscious hatred toward another person or group because of their “race” that often leads to violence against them.

For others, “racism” may include individual animosity, but actually goes much further than that. It can also manifest itself in systems and institutions that have detrimental effects on its victims even when there is no personal animosity on the part of the players involved. It could also refer to holding to stereotypes about groups of people or having negative preconceived notions (prejudice) about people based on their “race.” It could refer to unconscious bias. Further, it may refer to discriminatory practices that exclude people of certain “races” from opportunities, wealth, or advancement in society. It could also refer to using disparaging language or terminology when referring to different “races.”

These are just a small sampling of the myriad ways that “racism” is used. The problem should be apparent immediately. If I say that someone is guilty of “racism,” where on this spectrum am I placing them? Are we ready to equate someone who has an unconscious bias toward a group of people with the KKK? Surely, a topic this serious deserves the benefit of layers and nuance! If we as Christians are going to address sin, especially in other believers, it’s important that we address it specifically and with biblical categories. I think there’s a better way. I want to list out six things that people may mean when they say “racism,” while using language more in line with Scripture. In doing so, I’m simply combining the more biblical terminology of ethnicity with sins that are commonly alluded to in the Bible. In other words, these are particular sins that manifest themselves in the realm of ethnicity. I will include both modern and scriptural examples for each.

Common Ethnic Sins

Ethnic Hatred

Ethnic hatred is often what people mean when they talk about “racism.” It may be the most obvious of the ethnic sins. This is an active, passionate disdain for another person or group based on their ethnicity. This contempt often leads to violence and murder. Modern examples of this are the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis. Biblical examples of this would be Haman toward the Jews (Est. 9:24) and Jonah toward the Assyrians (Nineveh was the capital of Assyria). Jonah had so much contempt for them that he couldn’t even find it in his heart to rejoice when Nineveh repented at his preaching (Jonah 4:1).[1]

Ethnic Pride

“Ethnic neglect is a sin of omission.”

A subtler sin than ethnic hatred, ethnic pride is when a person has feelings of superiority concerning the ethnic group they belong to. This is often accompanied by viewing other ethnic groups as inferior. Modern examples of this are as blatant as the Black Hebrew Israelites or as subtle as a condescending comment made by an American homeowner to the immigrant worker who does her landscaping. Biblical examples of this would be Goliath concerning Israel (1 Sam. 17:8) and the Jews concerning Gentiles (Rom. 2:17–29).

Ethnic Favoritism (or Partiality)

Ethnic favoritism is the practice of giving unjust preferential treatment to one person or group on the basis of their ethnicity. A modern example of this is Wells Fargo Bank settling an $8 million lawsuit in 2020 from the US Department of Labor due to charges of discriminatory hiring practices that proved detrimental to thousands of Black applicants. As part of the settlement agreement, Wells Fargo admitted no liability, but also agreed to provide job opportunities to 580 of the impacted applicants.

Whether liable or not, the charge was ethnic favoritism. In fact, Wells Fargo has paid out hundreds of millions of dollars to settle discrimination lawsuits over the years. This charge has also been levied against teams in the National Football League, who some believe regularly overlook qualified minority coaches in favor of White coaches. Additionally, when people take issue with programs like Affirmative Action, it’s often because they believe companies and institutions that practice them are guilty of ethnic favoritism. I have two biblical examples. One is the explicit command against favoritism.

If, however, you show favoritism, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (James 2:9 CSB)

“Ethnic favoritism is the practice of giving unjust preferential treatment to one person or group on the basis of their ethnicity.”

In the context of James, the favoritism was on the basis of economic status, but obviously the command forbids favoritism on any basis, including ethnicity. The second example is in Galatians 2, when Peter chooses to eat with Jewish Christians rather than Gentile Christians. I’ll address this more a little later.

Ethnic Oppression

Ethnic oppression is the unjust or cruel exercise of power or authority toward a person or people on the basis of their ethnicity. Modern examples of this are the displacement of Native Americans in the US and the mass incarceration of Black men in America during the “War on Drugs” in the ’80s and ’90s.[2] Biblical examples of this are the oppression of the Hebrews by the Egyptians (Ex. 3:9) and the oppression of Israel by the Midianites (Judg. 6:1–10).

Ethnic Idolatry

Ethnic idolatry is elevating one’s own ethnicity (or someone else’s) to a place that causes the person to break the law of God. A modern example is the Christian parents who forbid their Christian child to marry another Christian because of their ethnicity. The Bible is crystal clear that, as long as it’s a lawful marriage, there are no ethnic restrictions whatsoever. The only consideration in that case is whether or not the other person is a Christian (“in the Lord” in 1 Cor. 7:39). Ethnic idolatry occurs whenever a Christian makes their ethnicity their primary and ultimate identity, rather than the fact that they are united to Christ.

Ethnic idolatry can also apply to other ethnicities, i.e., when one covets another person’s ethnicity (Col. 3:5). One infamous modern example of that is Rachel Dolezal, the White woman who deceived many people into thinking she was Black, going so far as to become a chapter president of the NAACP. Ethnic idolatry can also occur when a person’s love for another ethnicity is so great that it causes them to hate themselves or people from their own ethnicity. Biblical examples of ethnic idolatry are Miriam and Aaron criticizing Moses for marrying a Cushite woman (Num. 12:1–16) and Solomon with his foreign wives who led him to worship false gods (1 Kings 11:1–8).

Ethnic Neglect

“It should be plain to see that each of these sins is, at the root, a failure to love neighbor as self. “

Ethnic neglect is a sin of omission. It occurs when a person fails to care properly for another person because of their ethnicity. This is a violation of Proverbs 3:27: “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.”

A modern example would be the seventeen White police officers who stood there while Rodney King was being beaten and did nothing to intervene. Related to that case was the case of Reginald Denny, the White truck driver who was pulled out of his truck during the L.A. riots and viciously assaulted by a group of Black men. The other Black people who stood around and watched (or worse, laughed) were guilty of ethnic neglect. Thankfully for Denny, there were four other Black people who didn’t give in to that temptation and came to his rescue. A famous biblical example would be the priest and the Levite who were guilty of ethnic neglect in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30–37). A lesser-known example is how the disciples responded to the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:23.

It should be plain to see that each of these sins is, at the root, a failure to love neighbor as self. They also cover a range wide enough to indict most of us. I suspect that the Christian who balks at the possibility of being a “racist” would look at this list and see temptations that have gripped their own hearts. And praise be to God that the blood of Jesus Christ is sufficient to cover these sins as well. I believe that this kind of specificity will serve us as we dialogue on these issues in the church.

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[1] Some people question the role ethnic hatred played in Jonah’s anger over the repentance of the Ninevites. I personally believe that Jonah’s resistance was due to the violence that the Assyrian military had inflicted on Israel and other nations for centuries at that point. But it wasn’t just the military that repented. It was the whole city: men, women, young, old, “from the greatest to the least.” Presumably, even people who hadn’t participated in the violence. And yet Jonah was still angry. It’s important to keep in mind the definition of ethnicity mentioned earlier: “people joined by practicing similar customs or common culture.” His anger was toward God for showing mercy to a group of people (an ethnic group) that Jonah had come to despise.

[2] See The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, (New York: The New Press, 2020).