Almighty God Created the Races: Christianity, Interracial Marriage, and American Law

by Fay Botham

In this fascinating cultural history of interracial marriage and its legal regulation in the United States, Fay Botham argues that religion--specifically, Protestant and Catholic beliefs about marriage and race--had a significant effect on legal decisions concerning miscegenation and marriage in the century following the Civil War. She contends that the white southern Protestant notion that God "dispersed" the races and the American Catholic emphasis on human unity and common origins point to ways that religion influenced the course of litigation and illuminate the religious bases for Christian racist and antiracist movements.

288 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2009

Reviews

[Peter Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Amazon review -

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2IILS41...

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that this book was a very good read, although I do not know if I would pick it up outside of a school assignment. Botham tends to repeat herself a lot, however it does drill into your brain the point of the book. The real-life examples and accounts is what really gave me chills. Overall, a nice read.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good explanation of how religious beliefs shaped the laws governing interracial marriage. In particular it explains that American Protestants in particular were willing to cede a large measure of the definition of marriage to secular judgment.