A Survey of Biblical Justifications for Racial and Ethnic Discrimination

A Historical Survey of Biblical Justifications for Racial and Ethnic Discrimination

Historically, Christians have at times used specific biblical texts to justify discriminatory practices and systems of oppression against various non-white and marginalized groups. These interpretations often reinforced prevailing racial ideologies and served colonial, political, or economic agendas rather than faithfully reflecting the message of Scripture. What follows is an organized survey of biblical passages commonly cited—or misused—across different cultural and ethnic contexts.

1. Native Americans (Indigenous Peoples) Texts used to justify conquest, colonization, and displacement:

Genesis 1:28 – “Fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion…” (Interpreted to support domination and expansionism)

Deuteronomy 7:1–2 – “When the LORD your God brings you into the land… you must devote them to complete destruction.” (Used to rationalize genocide and forced displacement)

Joshua 1:3–6 – “Every place the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you…” (Invoked to justify Manifest Destiny)

Psalm 2:8 – “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” (Colonial possession framed as divine inheritance)

1. Africans and African Americans (Black People) Texts historically used to justify slavery, racial hierarchy, and segregation:

Genesis 9:25–27 – “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be…” (The so-called ‘Curse of Ham,’ long misused to justify African enslavement)

Ephesians 6:5, Colossians 3:22, 1 Timothy 6:1–2, Titus 2:9–10 (Passages encouraging slave obedience, cited to defend slavery in the Americas)

Philemon 1:15–16 – (Paul returning the enslaved Onesimus) (Used to justify Fugitive Slave Laws)

Acts 17:26 – “He made from one man every nation… having determined allotted periods and boundaries…” (Misused to support racial segregation and national separation)

Jeremiah 13:23 – “Can the Ethiopian change his skin…?” (Twisted to imply immutability of racial inferiority)

1. Latin Americans / Hispanics Texts cited to justify colonial domination, forced assimilation, and subjugation:

Romans 13:1–2 – “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities…” (Used to sanctify colonial power structures)

Titus 3:1 – “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities…” (Colonial authority justified as divine will)

Leviticus 25:44–46 – (Instructions for acquiring slaves from surrounding nations) (Applied in colonial contexts to indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants)

1. Arabs and Muslims Texts used historically to justify religious hostility, particularly during the Crusades and in periods of Islamophobia:

Genesis 16:11–12 – “He shall be a wild donkey of a man; his hand against everyone…” (Used to caricature Arabs through Ishmael)

Galatians 4:22–31 – (The allegory of Hagar and Sarah) (Used to delegitimize the descendants of Ishmael, later tied to Islam)

Joshua 23:12–13, Deuteronomy 20:16–17 (Misused to sanction violence against non-Christian peoples, especially Muslims)

1. Asian Peoples (East and South Asians) Texts misused to support colonialism, racial exclusion, and anti-immigration laws:

Ezra 9:1–2, 10:10–11 – (Prohibition against intermarriage) (Cited to defend racial purity laws and anti-Asian sentiment)

Nehemiah 13:23–27 – (Warning against marrying foreign women) (Used to rationalize exclusionary policies in the U.S. and elsewhere)

Acts 17:26 – (Again invoked to justify racial segregation and nation-based hierarchies)*

1. Pacific Islanders and Aboriginal Australians Texts used during missionary colonization and imperial expansion:

Genesis 9:25 – (The ‘Curse of Ham’) (Used to depict indigenous peoples as divinely cursed or inferior)

Romans 13:1 – “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities…” (Used to justify forced submission to colonial governments)

Matthew 28:19–20 – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (Interpreted as a mandate to “civilize” and Westernize indigenous cultures)

These verses were cited within a framework called the “civilizing mission,” where Christian evangelism was entangled with cultural imperialism, suppression of local languages, and destruction of indigenous traditions.

1. Romani People (Gypsies) Texts misused to justify social exclusion and moral stereotyping:

Proverbs 6:12 – “A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech…” (Spiritualized to associate Romani communities with deceit and criminality)

Romani people, often viewed as ethnically or racially distinct in Europe, were marginalized by both secular and Christian societies, with biblical tropes reinforcing their outsider status.

1. General Misuse Across All Non-White Peoples These verses were widely applied in support of racial segregation, white supremacy, and opposition to racial integration:

Genesis 11:1–9 – (Tower of Babel) (Misused to claim that God instituted racial separation)

Deuteronomy 7:3–4 – “Do not intermarry with them…” (Cited as divine prohibition of interracial marriage)

2 Corinthians 6:14 – “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers…” (Misapplied to oppose integration and mixed marriages)

Numbers 25:1–3 – (Israelites warned against foreign women) (Used in arguments for racial and cultural purity)

Clarification and Theological Correction It is essential to understand that these verses were not only taken out of context, but often twisted to serve the aims of power, conquest, and racial dominance. Their original intent—rooted in specific covenantal, historical, and theological frameworks—does not support the ideologies they were used to justify.

Modern biblical scholarship and contemporary Christian ethics overwhelmingly reject such interpretations. The consistent witness of Scripture affirms the dignity, worth, and equality of all people, rooted in the imago Dei—the image of God—in every human being (Genesis 1:27).

The misuse of Scripture to promote racial hierarchy and discrimination stands as one of the gravest distortions in Christian history. A faithful reading of the Bible demands deep humility, historical awareness, and a commitment to justice and love. Recognizing and naming these abuses is a necessary step toward repentance, reconciliation, and the restoration of Scripture’s liberating message for all people.

It is both fair and theologically sound to say that because of the Fall, human beings carry personal biases—including racial and cultural prejudices—that can distort how we interpret and impose that understanding of Scripture, often in ways that God and Jesus never intended. Personal bias, plus fear, anxiety, or paranoia—combined with the power to enforce one’s interpretation—has proven to be a deadly thing.

Here are six key lessons:

1. Scripture Can Be Twisted to Justify Sin The fact that Christians have repeatedly used it to justify oppression, slavery, segregation, and colonialism reveals that even sacred texts can be weaponized when read through the wrong lens—especially one shaped by power, fear, or cultural superiority.

Lesson: A text without context becomes a pretext. Christians must approach Scripture with humility, historical awareness, and a commitment to the whole gospel—not just selective proof texts.

1. Cultural Bias Can Blind Even the Faithful Many Christians who upheld racist or colonial systems were not monsters—they were people shaped by their time, culture, and dominant ideologies. They often believed they were being faithful. This should sober all believers to the possibility that we, too, may be misreading Scripture in ways future generations will lament.

Lesson: Always examine the cultural assumptions we bring to the Bible. We must constantly ask: Are we interpreting Scripture, or is our culture interpreting it for us?

1. Theology Must Be Lived Out With Justice When theology is abstracted from justice and human dignity, it becomes dangerous. Christians who built doctrines supporting slavery or apartheid were not lacking biblical knowledge—they were lacking biblical ethics. Right belief divorced from right practice becomes self-righteousness or theology in service of injustice.

Lesson: Orthodoxy (right belief) without orthopraxy (right action) is hollow. True discipleship includes love of neighbor, justice, mercy, and solidarity with the oppressed.

1. Christian Humility Must Include Historical Honesty Too often, churches ignore or minimize the darker parts of Christian history. But if we do not own our past, we are doomed to repeat it. Truth-telling about Scripture’s misuse is part of Christian maturity and communal repentance, not an attack on the faith.

Lesson: A faithful Church must be a truthful Church. Confessing historical sins allows healing, credibility, and a more Christlike future.

1. The Bible Must Be Interpreted Through the Life and Teachings of Jesus Many misuses of Scripture come from pulling verses from the Old Testament or epistles without reading them through the lens of Jesus’ life, teachings, and ministry to the marginalized. The Christ who welcomed Samaritans, healed Gentiles, condemned religious elitism, and laid down his life for others should be the interpretive center of all Christian theology.

Lesson: Jesus is the key hermeneutic. Any interpretation that leads to exclusion, oppression, or racial superiority is incompatible with the gospel.

1. The Global Church Offers Corrective Wisdom Much of the Bible’s misuse came from Western, white-dominated theological traditions. But the global Church—including African, Asian, Indigenous, and Latin American theologies—has long read Scripture with different assumptions and priorities, often emphasizing liberation, community, and resilience.

Lesson: Listen to voices from the margins. The Spirit is at work across cultures, and humility requires that we learn from those outside our own social location.

The Church today has the opportunity—and responsibility—to reclaim Scripture as a source of liberation, dignity, and justice. As Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32). That includes the truth about our history—and the truth about the God who sides with the oppressed, calls us to love our neighbor, and commands us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly.