Answer:

A.

Step-by-step explanation:

Religion, Race, and Racism: A (Very) Brief Introduction

June 1, 2020

Over the last few weeks, we have seen a spate of racist incidents across the country. These include, but are not limited to, the vigilante lynching of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, the killing of George Floyd by police in Minnesota, and the killing of Breonna Taylor by police while she lay asleep in her home in Kentucky. Peaceful protests have been met with police brutality including tear-gassing, cruelly preventing protestors from breathing while protesting a man choked to death. We have seen otherwise peaceful protests led by African-American communities co-opted and exploited by white men committing violence, whether they be white supremacists, anarchists, or other agents-provocateurs. At every turn, we have been reminded of white privilege and of the weaponization of racism, most dramatically perhaps in Amy Cooper’s false 911 call in New York City. These events have taken place against the backdrop of disproportionate number of deaths of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people from Coronavirus due to decades of institutionalized racism.

As educators in religion, we are mindful of the ways in which religion has a long, complicated, and interconnected relationship with the legacy of racism. Religions, religious institutions, and the academic study of religion have been (and continue to be) utilized to uphold white supremacy and justify racism and ethnic discrimination. Religion is neither practiced nor studied in a vacuum. Rather, it is always informed by social contexts and social conditions. Hence, religion often functions as a mirror of society’s broader assumptions and attempts to divide and discriminate, whether that be based on race, ethnicity, class, social status, nationality, religion, (dis)ability, gender, or sexuality.