When is the last time you heard the word “heathen”? The word was originally used to delineate between European Christians who tended to be in urban centers and pagans in rural areas.   “Heathen exists in the mind of the person doing the labeling, right? It's a label that one people foists onto another.”  Our guest today, Kathryn Gin Lum, walks us through the history of the term heathen and how it has utterly shaped the world. We discuss her book Heathen: Religion and Race in American History. The idea behind the term was wielded as a weapon to justify colonization and enslavement, and though the term has fallen out of use, she says the mental map of the world it has created has not.  Show Notes  Resources mentioned this episode:  "Heathen: Religion and Race in American History" by Kathryn Gin Lum  "The Origin of Others (The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures)" by Toni Morrison  Similar NSE episodes:  Willie James Jennings: The Christian Imagination  Eugene Cho and Karen Korematsu: Fear, Home and the Asian-American Experience    PDF of Lee's Interview Notes  Transcription Link    Want more NSE? JOIN NSE+ Today! Our subscriber only community with bonus episodes designed specifically to help you live a good life, ad-free listening, and discounts on live shows  Subscribe to episodes: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | YouTube Follow Us: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter Join our Email List: nosmallendeavor.com  See Privacy Policy: Privacy Policy  Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: Tokens Media, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.