Bobby E Wright Quote – Atheism

“I will tell you this, nothing that operates in this world today can I attribute to God, can I attribute to a Supreme Being. Nothing.”

Books By Bobby E Wright

Dr. Bobby E. Wright (1934-1982) was a Black psychologist known for his critical analysis of racism and White supremacy, particularly through his concept of the “Psychopathic Racial Personality.” When he states, “I will tell you this, nothing that operates in this world today can I attribute to God, can I attribute to a Supreme Being. Nothing,” he is making a profound and provocative statement about the nature of the world, particularly from the perspective of an oppressed group.

Let’s expand on what we think Dr Wright meant by this quote:

1. Rejection of Divine Intervention in Societal Ills: Wright’s work heavily focused on the systemic nature of White supremacy and the harm it inflicts upon Black people. From his perspective, if a benevolent, all-powerful God or Supreme Being were actively involved in the world, the pervasive suffering, injustice, and oppression that he meticulously documented would not exist. He saw the world operating under human-made systems of power and control, not divine guidance.
   
2. Critique of Traditional Religious Explanations for Suffering: Many religions offer explanations for suffering, often attributing it to God’s will, divine tests, or consequences of human sin. Wright’s statement directly challenges such explanations. For him, the suffering experienced by Black people was not a result of a divine plan or a test of faith, but a direct consequence of human actions and ideologies. Specifically, the “psychopathic racial personality” of those who perpetuate oppression.
   
3. Emphasis on Human Agency and Responsibility: By disassociating current world operations from a Supreme Being, Wright places the responsibility squarely on humanity. If God isn’t orchestrating events, then humans are. This shifts the focus from passive acceptance or prayer for divine intervention to active human struggle for liberation and justice. It implies that the problems of the world are of human making, and therefore, solutions must also come from human action.
   
4. A Challenge to “Blind Faith” and Uncritical Acceptance: His statement can be seen as a challenge to what he might perceive as “blind faith” that ignores or rationalizes the harsh realities of the world. He forces listeners to confront the empirical evidence of injustice and question whether a truly benevolent divine force would allow such conditions to persist.
   
5. Context of Black Liberation Theology and Thought: While Wright’s statement might sound atheistic, it’s crucial to understand it within the context of Black liberation thought. Many Black thinkers and theologians have grappled with the question of God’s role in the face of slavery, Jim Crow, and ongoing racial oppression. Some developed liberation theology, which reinterprets religious texts to emphasize justice and freedom. Wright’s statement, while seemingly more radical, aligns with the spirit of questioning how traditional religious frameworks address the realities of racialized suffering. He pushes the idea that if God is not evident in the current operation of the world’s systems, then perhaps those systems need to be dismantled and rebuilt by humans.
   
6. Focus on “What Is” vs “What Should Be”: Wright is observing the actual functioning of the world, not its idealised or theological description. In his view, the observable outcomes, oppression, violence, inequality, cannot logically be attributed to a benevolent divine hand. This doesn’t necessarily deny the existence of a Supreme Being, but rather denies its active, benevolent influence in the visible machinations of society as it currently stands.
   

In essence, Dr. Bobby Wright’s quote is a powerful indictment of the prevailing social order, asserting that its injustices are not divinely ordained but are rather products of human design and human pathology. It calls for a re-evaluation of how we understand both divine power and human responsibility in the face of systemic oppression.