Historians agree that most Southern evangelicals staunchly opposed integration not only as a disruption to their own way of life but as a violation of God's design for the world. In 1961, a mob littered with white evangelical Christians attacked and brutally beat members of the Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Ala., including future member of Congress John Lewis. Just weeks later, at a meeting of the White Citizens Council in Montgomery, prominent local
Pastor Henry Lyon delivered an impassioned segregationist speech insisting that "if you want to get a fight with the one that has started separation of the races, then you come face to face with your God." Lyon wasn't alone. White evangelical pastors across the South echoed segregationist sentiments to their congregations, justifying them through the eyes of God.
Not only was segregation favored as a matter of policy, but it was also demanded as a matter of religion.
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