Book Discussion on Necropolitics: The Religious Crisis of Mass Incarceration in America

In Necropolitics: The Religious Crisis of Mass Incarceration in America (Rowman and Littlefield, 2021), Christophe Ringer explores the pernicious and persistent presence of mass incarceration in American public life. He argues that mass incarceration endures largely due to the religious significance of animalizing and criminalizing black people in times of crisis. Ringer demonstrates how vilifying images of black people contribute to racism and political economy, creating a politics of death that uses jails and prisons to conceal social inequalities and political exclusion. This session assembles scholars of religion who also engage in abolitionist social, political, artistic, and ecclesial practices to reflect upon and respond to Ringer’s work.