Ras & Religion: Christian Identity Vs. Black Hebrew Israelites

Our society has become more and more radicalized. For many people religion plays a vital role in this radicalization process, particularly for those who justify racial supremacy through religious tenets. The purpose of this study is to examine and compare two ideologies from which radicalized followers assume racial supremacy from a God given designation as the "true Israelites". The two ideologies interpret the Bible – and sometimes even the same passages – differently. In this study I will examine the Christian Identity movement and the Black Hebrew Israelites by using a comparative method from a prototypical approach. My focus is how two different ideologies misinterpret the biblical myth about the Lost Tribes of Israel and how this misinterpretation inspires racial supremacy and Anti-Semitism. This is a study about the connection between race and religion. Keywords: racism, race, Christian Identity, Black Hebrew Israelites, Anti-Semitism, Lost Tribes of Israel