Brief Book Review: Religion, Race, and COVID-19

Religion, Race, and COVID-19: Confronting White Supremacy in the Pandemic
Edited by Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas

Who should read this? This collection of eleven important interdisciplinary essays should be read by anyone in active ministry who is concerned about the intersection of religion and race and disturbed by the health inequities and racism laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why should you read this? It offers an “ennobling and redeeming call to conscience in the age of coronavirus.” Published in 2022, it provides a unique opportunity to explore the interconnections between religion, race and civil unrest—the lasting effects of racism, the nation’s most persistent social ill. Floyd-Thomas refers to it as “a five-hundred-year-old virus that affects the soul of America.”

Kudos: The essayists represent a range of academic disciplines, involving theologians, anthropologists, ethicists, historians, legal experts, rhetoricians, and sociologists. Each essay is well documented and provides background information or links to studies referenced. There is also an extensive index.

Suggestions: From my perspective, two of the essays were particularly important and we face an uncertain future. It would be interesting to use each of them as the basis of a parish discussion and basis for action.

1. In “Who’s Saving Whom? Black Millennials and the Revivification of Religious Communities,” Melanie C. Jones, demonstrates that the generation indicted for abandoning faith, particularly in digital media are urging faith communities to revitalize their social witness by engaging in digital platforms. Links to several recent demographic studies which could be used to expand discussions and lead to action.

2. In the essay “Dying Laughing: Comedic Relief and Redemption in the Time of COVID-19,” Conā S.M. Marshall focuses on Dave Chappelle’s “unrefined” yet riveting (in my opinion) Netflix special 8:46, which the author uses as a case study. It would also provide for a robust discussion and motivation for action.

Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas, Ed., Religion, Race, and COVID-19: Confronting White Supremacy in the Pandemic, New York University Press, 2022, 312. ISBN 9781479810222

REVIEWER: Julia A. Upton, RSM
Julia Upton RSM is Provost Emerita and Distinguished Professor of Theology at St John’s University New York.