The Profits of Anti-Racism - American Reformer

How God Judges Intellectuals

In 1917, Sinclair Lewis wrote his book The Profits of Religion. It was his way of exposing how religion could be manipulated by grifters to exploit people’s fear and guilt for financial gain. The United States has long been fertile ground for new cults that prey on those desperate for answers about life, even if those answers are incoherent. These cults have often attracted people willing to pay large sums of money and even join communes with plural marriages. Perhaps my favorite of Lewis’ books is Elmer Gantry, especially with its marvelous film adaptation starring Burt Lancaster. In the story, we see how a charismatic salesman can use religious revivals to make money. When Elmer is asked how he knows God exists, he famously replies, “because I’ve seen the devil many times.” As viewers, we can’t help but wonder if he is actually speaking about himself.

Now, roughly 100 years later, Matt Walsh has created a modern version of this exposé with his work Am I a Racist?, where he traces the money made by DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) experts and anti-racism consultants. I don’t intend to excuse those who fall victim to such schemes, whether in cults or in today’s movements. People should exercise their God-given ability to think critically. But I want to focus on the grifters themselves, showing how this phenomenon is nothing new, and yet, somehow, we fail to learn from history.

In the last 15 years, we’ve witnessed a takeover of American universities by a new cult, one that is grounded in anti-racism and DEI initiatives. Unfortunately, this problem is not limited to secular institutions. Many private Christian universities have also fallen prey to this aberrant belief system. To call it a cult is to recognize that it mimics the themes of Christianity but changes their meaning, offering a cheap counterfeit. Cults, it seems, thrive in environments where critical thinking has been neglected, and in that sense, they serve as a judgment on society. These cults waste resources, destroy communities, and erode intellectual life.

What makes this phenomenon particularly fascinating is that the professors who have bought into this cult are the very same people who tend to look down on religion with condescension. They pride themselves on being the most educated, considering themselves the smartest people in any room. They love accolades from one another, hosting wine and cheese gatherings where they discuss the latest published ideas. In their minds, they are the intellectual elite. In today’s university, professors come and go, talking endlessly of Robin DiAngelo.

How did this particular group of Americans get so easily converted to such an obvious scam? To an outside observer, their words often seem nonsensical, and yet, they take themselves very seriously. This is a clear example of God humbling the so-called wisdom of this world. We can identify five important lessons this teaches us, lessons that also point toward a solution.

First, if we were to name this age in the way that previous eras have been named (like the Age of Reason or the Age of Anxiety), we might call it the New Dark Age. The intellectual life of our time focuses on the base and the perverse. I’m particularly aware of what’s happening in the humanities departments of universities. These are supposed to be the scholars who study the human condition at the highest level, yet they can’t even tell you what the good is. Some of them might not even recognize the phrase “the good,” and if they do, they may think it’s an outdated idea from Plato.

How can anyone claim to study the human condition without knowing what is good for a human? This should be the first question asked in any job interview for a humanities professor: “What do you believe is the good?” If the candidate cannot provide a clear, truthful definition in one sentence, the interview can end right there. After that, the candidate should be asked to defend their view of the good by refuting alternative views, and finally, they should give an example of how they would teach introductory students to understand this concept.

If a humanities professor can’t do that, nothing else they know will be of any use. Without a firm understanding of the good, everything they teach will be misdirected, harmful, or even evil. And further, they won’t be able to guide their students toward their highest purpose in life.

It was into this intellectual vacuum that the Anti-Racism DEI cult emerged. The humanists weren’t all pursuing the good and then suddenly switched to this new ideology. Rather, they had already neglected their duty to seek and teach the good, leaving themselves wide open for this new belief system to take root. This, I believe, is how God judges societies—especially those who think themselves wise. What they believe to be wisdom is, in reality, utter foolishness.

Second, what these humanists had been teaching before the rise of DEI cultism was already rooted in Marxism. Today, if you suggest that someone—be it a politician like Kamala Harris or a university professor—is a Marxist, they’ll often laugh and say, “This isn’t the 1950s.” But ask them what they believe about history, and they’ll start reciting ideas straight from the Communist Manifesto: history is a conflict between oppressors and the oppressed, owners and workers. The Neo-Marxists of today have broadened this conflict to include categories like religion, race, and culture.

Many secular university professors grew up in nominally Christian households but have since grown to despise Christianity. Thus, the Neo-Marxist approach suits them well. Whenever they discuss oppression, it always seems to circle back to Christianity as the primary source. At first, they may say “white men” are the oppressors, but when pressed, it becomes clear that the real target is white Christian men. Having already apostatized from their childhood faith, these intellectuals were ready for a new belief system to replace it. Marxism fit the bill perfectly.

Third, although these intellectuals have abandoned Christianity, they still have a need for meaning in their lives. Cults prey on this deep need. Marxism is essentially a Christian cult for atheists, one that mimics the structure of Christian doctrine but empties it of its true meaning. It offers a hollow and despairing vision of life.

In the Anti-Racism cult, for example, you are taught about original sin—“whiteness.” Whiteness is embedded in society, and those who possess it are often unaware. Only an anti-racist preacher can reveal it to them. Once revealed, however, there is nothing they can do to rid themselves of it. Whiteness, they are told, is the root cause of suffering in the world; it is the problem of evil.

Next, there is a need for atonement. Payment must be made for the sin of whiteness. While no individual can fully atone for it, they must try. White male Christians, in particular, are told to acknowledge their sin, repent, and perform acts of penance. This involves “doing the work,” staying silent, listening, feeling the pain they’ve inflicted on others, and “taking a back seat.” How long will this take? Indefinitely—until the oppressor-oppressed dynamic is fully reversed. It’s no longer just about individual actions, but a deep-seated, systemic reversal that is demanded.

If you ask, “Are we really talking about people living in 21st-century America, where most of us enjoy relative comfort compared to any other time in history?” you are missing the point. This isn’t just about today; it’s atonement for the last 500 years. You may never have engaged in racism personally, but as a white male Christian, you are guilty by association with your ancestors, and you must pay for their sins.

The Anti-Racism movement taps into a deep human need to explain evil and find meaning, especially among those who have rejected traditional Christian theodicy. While Christianity teaches that suffering entered the world through sin and will one day be eradicated through Christ, Anti-Racism reduces all suffering to economic oppression caused by systemic racism. Suffering isn’t seen as spiritual or metaphysical, but material and external.

These answers are philosophically vacuous. They are grounded in materialism, albeit sometimes mystical materialism, that offers the individual no hope. They are conflict theory and understand all of life as a conflict between humans over limited resources. As materialists, they are reductionistic. They cannot account for the origin of matter, the human soul, or the transcendent meaning of life. It is clear to reason this system is false but the problem is these are not persons using reason to critique their own beliefs.

The Anti-Racist worldview encourages resentment and hatred, particularly towards white male Christians. In Am I a Racist?, Matt Walsh shows how the movement peddles envy, feeding on the perception that someone else’s success or comfort is the cause of your suffering. If that person is a white male Christian, then they are to blame, and this mindset nurtures a vicious, destructive character.

Here, we see a clear divergence from historic Christianity. The Gospel teaches that we are all sinners, that we have hated our neighbors in many ways, and most gravely, that we have hated God. It also teaches that Christ’s atonement on the cross is the only payment sufficient to redeem us. Unlike the works-based righteousness of the Anti-Racist movement, the Christian message is one of grace. Through Christ, we are reconciled to God, and through grace, we are empowered to live lives that glorify Him.

Cults, by contrast, rely on endless work. Even though the efforts of the white male Christian in the Anti-Racism movement won’t bring about real change, they are expected to try, and the cycle of penance and guilt never ends. The “work” is an empty ritual, devoid of the true forgiveness and reconciliation offered in the Gospel.

Fourth, cults like the Anti-Racism movement prey on those who are weak-minded, neurotic, and impressionable. While we can’t excuse those who fall for such movements, it’s clear that many who subscribe to Anti-Racist ideology are struggling with deep-seated guilt. But this guilt stems from their sin against God, not their social identity or privilege. Tragically, in their search for absolution, they turn to false promises of salvation offered by cult leaders, rather than the true redemption found in Christ.

The problem with these cults is that they are doomed to failure. They flourish briefly, like weeds, but ultimately, they wither and are cast aside. The righteous, by contrast, are compared to a tree planted by streams of living water, always bearing fruit, even in old age. Professors who fall into this Anti-Racism cult begin with zeal, but as they grow older, they become bitter and cynical. I’ve witnessed this firsthand in academia—the initial excitement fades, and they are left with nothing but empty promises and a wasted life.

It’s the classic tragedy of the sinner. You might feel sympathy for them, but if you extend a hand to help, they lash out in anger. In many ways, we are all like this before Christ redeems us, but there are distinct patterns among those drawn to cults: their rejection of the good, their atheism or apostasy, their desperate search for meaning, and their crippling sense of guilt.

Fifth, we are not powerless. We can act to root this cult out of the academy. Secular universities need not be anti-Christian. These institutions are places where we should be studying general revelation, the works of God that reveal His nature. Christians invented the university system for this very purpose—to learn about God’s creation and glorify Him through our intellectual pursuits.

Parents, students, taxpayers, donors, legislators, and pastors all have a role to play in holding professors accountable for the content they teach. Do these professors truly understand the good, or do they only think they do? Socrates once overturned the wisdom of Athens by asking similar questions to those who thought they were wise. It’s time we do the same within the universities of today.

It’s perfectly reasonable for a student to ask their professors whether they will be promoting Anti-Racism, LGBTQ+ ideologies, or other modern movements in their classes. Most professors may claim they aren’t, but it’s important to learn to recognize when they subtly are. Asking them straightforwardly, “What is the chief end of man?” is a good way to start.

Our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. This can be done regardless of wealth, race, or background. No one can take away the knowledge of God from you.

Consider Psalm 73, where Asaph speaks of envying the wealthy. He observed that they live lives of ease, seemingly free of hardship, with followers who admired them. They indulged themselves without consequence, and Asaph, who had been faithfully seeking God, found himself wondering why he suffered while they prospered.

But then Asaph went into the sanctuary of God, where he saw the animal sacrifices being offered. He saw the high priest take the blood of the sacrifice into the Most Holy Place and sprinkle it on the Mercy Seat. There, Asaph learned the Gospel. He recognized his sin and realized that he had been behaving like a brute beast, envying the material success of others while neglecting his own need for redemption.

Asaph’s mind was elevated from the material to the spiritual, and he understood that his sin was not against man, but against God. He also understood the offer of atonement through the death of another, and he looked forward to the One who would die in our place.

Conclusion

The rise of the Anti-Racism and DEI movements within universities reflects a broader cultural drift away from a foundation in truth and reason, as seen through the lens of classical theism and Christianity. These ideologies, masquerading as moral crusades, offer a shallow counterfeit to the profound teachings of Christianity on sin, atonement, and redemption. Where Christianity calls for an acknowledgment of universal sinfulness and the hope of grace through Christ, the Anti-Racism cult offers only perpetual guilt and unachievable atonement through endless works and penance.

We are left with a pressing challenge: to reclaim the university as a place of true inquiry into God’s works, rather than allowing it to remain captive to destructive ideologies. Students, professors, and all those involved in the academic world must not shy away from asking the most important questions about the nature of the good and the purpose of human life. These questions, properly answered, direct us to the knowledge and love of God, which alone can bring lasting meaning and peace.

Christians must recognize this as a moment of cultural and spiritual urgency. The answer lies not in retreating from intellectual engagement, but in robustly defending the truths of Christianity and classical theism. As history has shown, false ideologies will wither in time, but the truth of God will endure. Our chief end, as the Westminster Confession reminds us, is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever—a truth that no worldly ideology can take away.

Anti-Racism is not the first cult America has faced, and it won’t be the last. It is unique in that it targets the intellectual class, those who pride themselves on their supposed wisdom. But there is hope. If you’ve been caught in this cult, you can break free. If you are a student, be aware that you will likely encounter this ideology during your academic career. Recognize it for what it is: the humbling and shaming of those who think themselves wise but speak against the Word of God. And know this—God does not hold guiltless those who take His name in vain.

Be watchful. Fear God. If you neglect your God-given ability to think critically, you too could become captive to these modern cults. Seek God while you are young and keep His commandments. A university education should cultivate a fear of God and develop moral character. It should lead students astray. Don’t settle for less.

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