A Religion Of Diversity

Some people want you to feel like Christianity is only for "white people," but if you have traveled to different places, or started out in places with large Latino populations, you've seen that this isn't true.

If you have been to places such as California or Arizona where there is a strong Latino presence, you might have walked into a grocery store and seen statues of Saints Peter and Mary displayed on shelves, which is surprising in an age that has tried to hide Christianity from public places.

Christians,

You may have heard people call Christianity a “white person’s” religion in the US. When they say "white" in this context, they generally mean someone with a last name such as Smith or Murphy.  This could cause you to imagine that Jesus and the disciples were originally from the US or Europe.    

However, Jesus and the disciples were actually from the Middle East.  The term is misleading from the start.  Also, although Christianity has faded to almost invisibility in many places, Christianity is still strong among many Latino populations in the US.  If you have been to places such as California or Arizona where there is a strong Latino presence, you might have walked into a grocery store and seen statues of Saints Peter and Mary displayed on shelves, which is surprising in an age that has tried to hide Christianity from public places.  If you go to church regularly, you may have also met missionary priests from Africa.  You can sense the Christian spirit is strong in them.  In fact, there are people who love Jesus around the world, even in an age where Christianity has disappeared from many places.  As Christians, we believe that Jesus loves every one of these people and that all people around the world are children of God, equal in value and importance--including those who don't believe in any religion.

A big reason Christianity is called a “white person’s” religion is to attach it to current racial prejudices against white people and further weaken its following.  The term is also used to try to make people feel that Christianity is for those who haven’t seen more of the world and are thus small-minded.  However, those who have seen more of the world know the opposite to be true.