This summer the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D. C. posted a chart on its website called “Aspects and Assumptions of Whiteness and White Culture.” This chart attracted criticism because “Whiteness” was equated with individualism, the nuclear family, the scientific method, the importance of the Western tradition, the Protestant work ethic, Christianity, respect for authority, English common law, private property, majority rule, and standard written English.
Many Americans of color live by the values identified as White, and would find such a chart offensive, and apparently did. The Smithsonian Institution, the developer of the museum, removed the chart and apologized. Clearly, however, the chart describes reality for at least some social historians of the NMAAHC and elsewhere. Such charts are not new, and variations of the chart are being promulgated and accepted as truth in many parts of the United States right now.
The implications of the concepts behind the chart are important for Seventh-day Adventists to consider. Adventism is a world-wide faith. Adventism has successfully crossed many cultural boundaries with its message. If the chart were accurate, it would mean that Adventism was essentially a White religion, given its origins. However, rather than being a White religion, Adventism in the United States is a highly diverse phenomena. 37% Of members are White, 32% are Black, 15% are Hispanic, 8% are Asian, and 8% are other (Michael Lipka, “A Closer Look at Seventh-day Adventists in America,” The Pew Research Center, 2015). Whites in the SDA Church in the United States are a minority in a culture that is majority White.
The whole Church is, of course, even more diverse. The 2020 Annual Statistical Report from the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists indicates that there are 21,556,837 Adventists in the world. In the North American Division, there are 1,262,927 Adventists, which is about 6% of the world total. If Whites make up 37% of Adventists in the United States, that means American Whites make up little more than 2% of the world Church. The Adventist Church is distinctly not White.
Our Roots
The Seventh-day Adventist Church began in 1863, and the overwhelming majority of those early Adventists were White. We also know that “Whiteness” (as defined by the chart) was the cultural assumption of those first Adventists. In spite of this fact, something in Adventism enabled it to cross cultural barriers with relative ease, as history since 1863 shows. Why might that be? Adventists are a people of the Book. They have accepted the command to take the gospel to the whole world. And the gospel has little to do with ethnicity—except to condemn it when it divides people. White Adventists may cling to the Protestant work ethic and the importance of timeliness, but that does not mean that the gospel is “White.”
If anything, Christianity is “Black” in America. The Pew Research Center says that Blacks are more likely to identify as Christian, particularly Protestant Christian, than any other ethnic group (79%) in the United States (David Masci, et. al., 2018). So even though they represent only 13% of the population of the United States, an outside observer would notice the overwhelming identification of Black Americans with Christianity (nearly 8 in 10 Blacks identify as Christian). Yet the chart equates Christianity with “Whiteness.” Clearly, the chart is inaccurate in portraying Christianity as White.
Our Hope
The Bible addresses the relationship between ethnicity and the gospel. From a biblical world view, there are really only two ethnic groups in the world, Jew and Gentile. Of course, the Bible mentions numerous tribes and nations—Egyptians, Moabites, Philistines, Ethiopians, Greeks, and Romans, for example. But the Apostle Paul argues that a true “son of Abraham” is the one who has faith in Jesus. All faithful Christians, therefore, are “Jews.” This is why Paul asserts that “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:28, 29, ESV). By faith, then, every person, no matter his or her race, becomes a “Jew.” Ethnic differences, spiritually speaking, end in Christ.
Our Mission
This message, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, enabled early Seventh-day Adventist missionaries to surmount difficult racial impediments. Ethnicity is not, or should not be, an element of identity in Adventism. Adventist identity is a singularity—each member is a part of one body—the body of Christ. Races, nations, languages, and peoples end in Christ. Conflict in this area betrays the Church, as does all conflict among members.
So it is troubling to see racial tension growing in the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. Sadly, the cause of current divisions appears to be based in American politics. Politics is a conflict-producing machine. Members of the Church should remember what got them where they are as a unified world Church. They should renew themselves, put on Christ, and take off their “Whiteness,” “Brownness,” or “Blackness.” It is truly said that man looks on the outward appearance, while God looks on the heart.
The Church should do better—it must do better—and act as the gospel demands.
Marcus Sheffield is a Professor of English at Southern Adventist University.