Rev. Gregory Chisholm

Critical Faith

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“In her book Critical Faith, Dr. Joni Schwartz-Chaney casts a strong and focused light on an American appropriation of Christianity that has sadly accompanied, historically, the national acceptance of racism and colorism. Nevertheless, as a fervent Christian believer, she has written a text that is full of hope in what Christian congregations can be, even as she illuminates the tragic effects of our country's refusal largely to clearly see the effects of our past on the present. Explaining and using the lens of critical race theory to demystify the stories co-religionists tell one another about who American Christians are, Dr. Schwartz-Chaney successfully helps us to both understand and confront an enduring racial segregation in our pews. Critical Faith attempts to offer a rational way for millennial American Christians to comprehend ourselves, as the writing of Karl Barth aided a post-war Christianity and as James Cone gave clarity to Christians following the era of civil rights. Dr. Schwartz-Chaney successfully presents a way for Protestant and Catholic churches to be anti-racist and to see themselves as the prophet Micah suggested we are expected to be before our God.”