# Anthea Butler

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**Anthea Deidre Butler** (born 1960) is an [African-American](/source/African_Americans) professor of religion and chair of the [University of Pennsylvania](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania) Department of [Religious Studies](/source/Religious_Studies), where she is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought.

## Early life and education

Born in [Texas](/source/Texas) in 1960, Anthea Deidre Butler is the daughter of Jesse and Willa Mae (Anthony) Butler.[1][2] She attended [La Marque High School](/source/La_Marque_High_School) in [La Marque, Texas](/source/La_Marque,_Texas), winning prizes in local music contests playing the [marimba](/source/Marimba).[3][4][5]

She completed a B.A. degree at the [University of Houston–Clear Lake](/source/University_of_Houston%E2%80%93Clear_Lake); an M.A. in [theology](/source/Theology) at the [Fuller Theological Seminary](/source/Fuller_Theological_Seminary) in California; and an M.A. in religion at [Vanderbilt University](/source/Vanderbilt_University_Divinity_School).[6][7] She earned a Ph.D. in Religion at Vanderbilt University in 2001, with the dissertation, *A Peculiar Synergy: Matriarchy and the Church of God in Christ,* advised by [Lewis V. Baldwin](/source/Lewis_V._Baldwin).[8]

## Career

Butler was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Race, Religion, and Gender at [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University) from 2001 to 2002. She has also been on the faculties of [Loyola Marymount University](/source/Loyola_Marymount_University) and the [University of Rochester](/source/University_of_Rochester) in Rochester, New York. In 2008 and 2009, she was a research associate and Colorado Scholar in the Women’s Study in Religion Program of [Harvard Divinity School](/source/Harvard_Divinity_School).[7] Since 2009 she has been on the faculty of the [University of Pennsylvania](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania_College_of_Arts_%26_Sciences), where she now serves as chair of the Department of Religious Studies.[7][9] For the 2025–26 academic year, Butler held a senior fellowship at the Koch History Centre in the [University of Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford), with the theme of the centre's studies that year being 'religion and the state'.[10]

She has taught classes on the religious beliefs of [Malcolm X](/source/Malcolm_X), and [Martin Luther King](/source/Martin_Luther_King) and is known for her extensive use of [social media](/source/Social_media) and engagement in religious debates on [Twitter](/source/Twitter). She has written for *[Religion Dispatches](/source/Religion_Dispatches)*, *[TheGrio](/source/TheGrio)* and [CNN](/source/CNN)'s *Belief Blog*.[6]

## Views

As an educator, Butler was among those who protested against [Colin Powell](/source/Colin_Powell) being awarded an [honorary degree](/source/Honorary_degree) from the University of Rochester.[11] She has also spoken on issues such as the [sexuality](/source/Sexuality) of [Pentecostal](/source/Pentecostal) women, and has criticised the [Evangelicalism](/source/Evangelicalism) of former [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) vice-presidential candidate [Sarah Palin](/source/Sarah_Palin).[12]

Butler has been critical of the American [Christian right](/source/Christian_right) and Evangelicalism in general, arguing that it is [white supremacist](/source/White_supremacist).[13][14] Her 2021 book *[White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America](/source/White_Evangelical_Racism:_The_Politics_of_Morality_in_America)* discusses White [American Evangelicals](/source/Evangelicalism_in_the_United_States) and that group's support for former President [Donald Trump](/source/Donald_Trump) and conservative Republicans, arguing that "evangelicalism is not a simply religious group at all" but a racist, "nationalistic political movement".[15]

In 2015, in response to Republican presidential candidate [Ben Carson](/source/Ben_Carson)'s views on the [modern display of the Confederate battle flag](/source/Modern_display_of_the_Confederate_battle_flag) at [NASCAR](/source/NASCAR) races, she argued that he deserved a "[Coon](/source/List_of_ethnic_slurs#C) of the Year" award on Twitter, leading to criticism among conservatives for her use of an anti-Black [racial slur](/source/Racial_slur).[13][16][17] Tommy Christopher of *[Mediaite](/source/Mediaite)* defended her use of the word, arguing that the slur had different connotations when said by a Black person (such as Butler) than a White person.[18]

## Personal life

Butler is [Catholic](/source/Catholic_Church), and for a period identified as an [Evangelical](/source/Evangelicalism).[19]

## Selected publications

### Books

- Butler, Anthea (2007). *Women in the Church of God in Christ: Making a Sanctified World*. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-5808-0.
- Butler, Anthea (2019). *The Gospel According to Sarah: How Sarah Palin's Tea Party Angels Are Galvanizing the Religious Right*. New Press. ISBN 9781595587107.
- Butler, Anthea (2021). *White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America*. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1-4696-6117-9.

### Articles

- Butler, Anthea D. "African American Religious Conservatives in the New Millennium." in Sutton, Matthew Avery. *Faith in the New Millennium* 2016: 59-73. ISBN 0199372705.
- Butler, A. D. " 'Only a Woman Would Do' Bible Reading and African American Women’s Organizing Work." *Women and Religion in the African Diaspora: Knowledge, Power, and Performance*, 155-178.
- Butler, A. D. (2001). *Institutional authority vs. charismatic authority* (pp. 100-114).
- Butler, A. D. (2007). *Unrespectable Saints: Women of the Church of God in Christ*.
- Butler, A. D., Walton, J. L., Neal, R. B., Hart, W. D., Sorett, J., Blum, E., & Glaude Jr, E. S. (2010). The Black Church is Dead—Long Live the Black Church. *Religion Dispatches.*

## Awards and honors

In 2021, Butler was named the Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought, a professorship "...interdisciplinary in nature and awarded to a scholar of national reputation whose central interests include human rights, civil liberties, and race relations."[9]

Butler was a [Yale University](/source/Yale_University) Presidential Visiting Fellow for 2019-20, "to investigate the prosperity gospel and its political dimensions in the American and Nigerian contexts".[20][21]

## References

1. ["Texas, U.S., Birth Index, 1903-1997"](https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8781/images/TXBTH_1960_000301f?usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId=8180858). *www.ancestry.com*. 1960. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20211224075924/https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8781/images/TXBTH_1960_000301f?usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId=8180858) December 24, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 24, 2021.

1. ["Times topics"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91071596/times-topics/). *The La Marque Times*. June 15, 1977. p. 1. Retrieved December 24, 2021.

1. ["LMHS girls place for scholarships"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91071334/lmhs-girls-place-for-scholarships/). *The La Marque Times*. September 28, 1977. p. 11. Retrieved December 24, 2021.

1. ["LMHS band wins 76 gold medals in contest"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91095807/lmhs-band-wins-76-gold-medals-in-contest/). *The La Marque Times*. February 9, 1977. p. 1. Retrieved December 24, 2021.

1. ["La Marque High School MarKeys Winners in Tri-State Festival"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91095379/la-marque-high-school-markeys-winners/). *The Galveston Daily News*. May 12, 1978. p. 6. Retrieved December 24, 2021.

1. Getsos, Alexandra (February 18, 2013). ["Professor brings religion to 21st century"](https://www.thedp.com/article/2013/02/professor-brings-religion-to-21st-century). *[The Daily Pennsylvanian](/source/The_Daily_Pennsylvanian)*. Retrieved December 19, 2021.

1. Butler, Anthea. ["Anthea D. Butler Vita 2009-2011"](https://africana.sas.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/Anthea-Butler-CV.pdf). *Africana Studies*. [University of Pennsylvania](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania)

1. Butler, Anthea D. (2005). ["A Peculiar Synergy: Matriarchy and the Church of God in Christ"](https://ir.vanderbilt.edu/handle/1803/11561?show=full)

1. ["Anthea Butler Named Geraldine R. Segal Professor in American Social Thought | Department of Religious Studies"](https://rels.sas.upenn.edu/news/2021/10/12/anthea-butler-named-geraldine-r-segal-professor-american-social-thought). *rels.sas.upenn.edu*. Retrieved December 24, 2021.

1. ["Announcing the new Koch History Centre Fellows"](https://history.web.ox.ac.uk/article/koch-history-centre-fellows#widget-id-5433196). *[Faculty of History, University of Oxford](/source/Faculty_of_History,_University_of_Oxford)*. August 27, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2025.

1. ["Powell"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90839909/democrat-and-chronicle/). *[Democrat and Chronicle](/source/Democrat_and_Chronicle)*. October 21, 2007. p. 68. Retrieved December 19, 2021.

1. Leicht, Linda (November 29, 2008). ["Expert to discuss Pentecostal women at Drury"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90838158/the-springfield-news-leader/). *[The Springfield News-Leader](/source/The_Springfield_News-Leader)*. p. 26. Retrieved December 19, 2021.

1. Chan, Mitchell (October 16, 2015). ["Penn prof. makes national headlines for calling Ben Carson a 'coon'"](https://www.thedp.com/article/2015/10/anthea-butler-coon-of-the-year-twitter-comment). *[The Daily Pennsylvanian](/source/The_Daily_Pennsylvanian)*. Retrieved December 19, 2021.

1. ["Opinion | 'God Forbid' Jerry Falwell Jr. actually practiced what he preached"](https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/god-forbid-jerry-falwell-jr-actually-practiced-what-he-preached-n1300493). *MSNBC.com*. 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2023-12-01.

1. Harvey, Paul (September 17, 2021). ["White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America. By Anthea Butler"](https://academic.oup.com/jcs/article-abstract/63/4/753/6371803). *[Journal of Church and State](/source/Journal_of_Church_and_State)*. **63** (4): 753–755. [doi:10.1093/jcs/csab065](https://doi.org/10.1093/jcs/csab065). [ISSN 0021-969X](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0021-969X). Retrieved December 19, 2021.

1. ["Professor's bigotry display draws little notice on this college campus"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90838335/the-daily-oklahoman/). *[The Daily Oklahoman](/source/The_Daily_Oklahoman)*. October 19, 2015. p. 8. Retrieved December 19, 2021.

1. Weaver, Al (October 7, 2015). ["Ivy League professor calls Carson a 'coon'"](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ivy-league-professor-calls-carson-a-coon). *[Washington Examiner](/source/Washington_Examiner)*. [Fox News](/source/Fox_News). Retrieved December 20, 2021.

1. Christopher, Tommy (October 7, 2015). ["Ivy League Professor Didn't Actually Call Ben Carson 'Coon of the Year'"](https://www.mediaite.com/online/ben-carson-is-not-actually-coon-of-the-year/). *[Mediaite](/source/Mediaite)*. Retrieved December 20, 2021.

1. Butler, Anthea (2020-10-21). ["Tweet"](https://twitter.com/antheabutler/status/1318991743291969540). *Twitter*. Retrieved 2022-07-05.

1. ["Presidential Visiting Fellows for 2019-20 | Faculty Development & Diversity"](https://faculty.yale.edu/presidential-visiting-fellows-2019-20). *faculty.yale.edu*. Retrieved December 24, 2021.

1. ["Anthea D. Butler"](https://www.acls.org/fellow-grantees/anthea-d-butler/). *ACLS*. Retrieved December 24, 2021.

## External links

- [Episode One: "Becoming Less Racist: Lighting the Path to Anti-Racism" with Anthea Butler](https://www.youtube.com/HfN-Rd4wI0E) on YouTube, video (47:53 minutes)
- [From Words to Work: Dismantling Racism](https://www.youtube.com/Ie2F2S-2zG4&t=35s) on YouTube, video (1:26:01 hours)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Anthea Butler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthea_Butler) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthea_Butler?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.