Finding 4: Religious-centered colorblindness narrowed what could be named or received

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Finding: Religious-centered colorblindness narrowed what could be named or received

Excerpt:

“Cross (1991) observes that individuals in the Pre-Encounter stage often ground themselves in spiritual or non-racial orientations, which, while providing stability, may also narrow their understanding of racial identity.” 

Support:

1) Pre-Encounter: religious colorblindness as avoidance

“This religiously inspired colorblindness echoed a broader colorblind ideology prevalent in 20th century’s conservative Christian communities, which… promoted colorblindness not for inclusivity, but as a means to avoid confronting racial inequities.” 

2) Pre-Encounter: security + limitation

“My religiously motivated colorblindness became both a source of security and a limitation, encouraging a universalist identity while quietly aligning me with White cultural norms.” 

3) Vignette: lived example of what couldn’t be received

“In my colorblind, religious worldview, this preoccupation with race seemed almost foreign, a distraction from the truth I believed in: that race didn’t ultimately matter.” 

4) Encounter: what it revealed inside religious spaces

“It was startling to recognize that, under the guise of ‘colorblindness,’ even religious communities could harbor an embedded indifference to race-related and cultural concerns. It was difficult to accept that, within these spaces, there could be discomfort or even disdain toward Black people simply for speaking about Black lives.”