Can religion undermine racism with more than sentiment and ideology?
(from talk at London West Area Meeting of the Society of Friends (Quakers) 15.2.2026 Uxbridge Meeting House)
Friends, today I want to reflect on an issue that touches both our moral convictions and our shared humanity: the connection between ideology, and in particular racism, (also its abstract mirror form, anti-racist & inclusivist ideology), with the economic systems we live within. Recent scholarship in historical materialism — a tradition that studies how social structures grow out of economic realities — offers insights that resonate deeply and must be integrated with our religious positions on justice, dignity, and the equal worth of every person.
Researchers examining the roots of racism argue that it is not simply a matter of individual prejudice. Instead, racism is woven into the very structure of economic life. I’d like to refer to an article ‘Racism and Capitalism: A Contingent or Necessary Relationship?’ by Charlie Post – historicalmaterialism.org/ which I recommend Friends read.. According to the studies referenced in this, racial divisions were not accidental; they were shaped and reinforced because they served powerful economic interests. In other words, systems of exploitation often required systems of dehumanisation to justify them.
This perspective aligns with what many faith traditions have long taught: that injustice is not only personal but also systemic. Scripture repeatedly warns us about societies that allow the strong to profit from the suffering of the vulnerable. The prophets condemned those who “grind the faces of the poor,” (Isaiah 3:15) not only because individuals acted wrongly, but because entire structures allowed such harm to flourish.
Historical materialist scholars argue that capitalism, as it developed, relied on racial hierarchies to organise labour and justify inequality. Whether in colonialism, slavery, or modern forms of economic exclusion, racial categories were often created or hardened to maintain systems of profit. This doesn’t mean every person within the system is racist; rather, it means the system itself has often encouraged divisions that contradict our deepest moral values.
For people of faith, this raises a profound challenge. If racism is embedded in the structures around us, then our calling is not only to “hold oneself in the Light”. (i.e. – revealing, refining, and cleansing impurities, ultimately softening the heart and bringing it into alignment with God’s will), but we are also led to transform our society. Quaker tradition is rich with a ‘realised eschatology’ – a modern Quaker term for this is “the Kingdom is now and not-yet“, and the “Lamb’s War“ of George Fox and contemporaries meant in essence a non-violent struggle to replace corrupt systems with Christ’s immediate reign. Faith is not passive. It demands that we stand with the oppressed, that we question systems that degrade human dignity, and that we work toward a world where every person — regardless of race — can flourish.
The philosophical insight of historical materialism, is behind Karl Marx’s famous characterization of religion, as the opium of the people in his 1843/1844 work, A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Introduction. ([to quote from this he wrote] Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions)… This necessary critique of religion comes from a scientific position dictating that to confront social ills like racism, and all ideologies of oppression, requires us to confront the economic forces that sustain them. That insight nevertheless echoes moral vision found in many religious traditions: justice is indivisible. We cannot heal racial wounds without addressing the conditions that created them.
Now I’m proud to say that Quakers in Britain – although I fear we still tend towards an ideological and moral position on racism and intolerance – are working in some practical & substantial ways – cf Quakers in Britain webpage: https://www.quaker.org.uk/action/campaigning-and-advocacy/current-peace-campaigns – On confronting militarism and climate breakdown, some Friends are actively engaged in constructive and direct action against the means of production of weapons of war and environmental destruction. Embodied forms of Quaker solidarity, including public protest bring us, brings me much closer to the material reality, the class struggle behind all the violence and cruelty that we see in society. Quakers in Britain is a founding member of Stop the Arms Fair, a coalition of groups opposing the Defence and Security Equipment International arms fair (DSEI) in East London every other year and I found it most rewarding to take part in a related London walk of witness last year with Westminster and other meetings. Peace will only be achieved by dismantling the war-profit machines.
So as we reflect and discern today, let us remember that our faith calls us to more than tolerance. It calls us to courage, to truth, but I think above all to practical solidarity. And to the hard, hopeful work of building a society where the image of God in every person is honoured — not just in word, but in the very structures of our common life.