A few years ago, when researching how people understand the concepts of race and ethnicity, I carried out a short survey with three questions. I asked how many races people believed existed, whether they considered Hispanic, African-American and Black British to be different races, ethnicities or both, and what the term ‘mixed race’ meant to them. Over half of respondents believed there were more than five races in the world. Three-quarters thought that Hispanic, African-American and Black British were different ethnic groups. In response to the final question, some believed ‘mixed race’ referred to a mix of ethnicities, others to a mix of races. One person said it was impossible and another suggested that ‘mixed ethnicity’ is a more accurate term.

This pushes us to look closely at how human categories have been created and to question the language we use. Anthropologist Audrey Smedley (1997) argues that the very idea of ‘race’ did not arise from human biology at all. She maintains that race is a social invention rather than a scientific fact created through history rather than evidence. In her analysis, the concept of race was shaped within the context of African slavery. It emerged as a way for European and American pro-slavery institutions to justify the systems they had built. They would portray people of African descent as a different and inferior ‘type’ or ‘kind’ of human. This created the ideological grounds that enabled slave laws to strip them of legal personhood and reduce them to property. This social construction of race worked hand in hand with legal structures. It made dehumanisation acceptable and created the basis of the transatlantic slave trade.

In this sense, the concept of ‘race’ never began as a biological classification of human differences. It developed as a social and legal tool used to rationalise, defend and sustain one of the largest systems of human trafficking in history. Arguably, what is often described as ‘race’ is perhaps better understood as ethnicity, ancestry and cultural history. Over the years, our ancestors have travelled and adapted to different environments, which shaped differences in appearance and language within one human family. When colonial powers imposed artificial divisions, humanity began to be spoken of as if it were split into separate biological types, and this notion still influences language today.

This is also why I don’t use the phrase ‘mixed-race’. As there is only one human race, then the idea of being a mix of races is biologically unfounded. It is not something that truly exists. Cultural identity on earth is more complex than just a one worded ethnic category. This is why ethnic governmental categories vary from country to country. In today’s globalised world, more children than ever are likely to select the ‘mixed’ category on government forms to best describe their ethnicity.

Earthly labels may relate to parts of our background but they do not define who we truly are. I have grown up with a blend of English, Peruvian and French heritage. Therefore, I have never felt fully anchored to any one place in this world. Instead, I was pushed to explore what identity really means. This led me to understand that the deepest sense of belonging is not found in earthly categories at all.

If you try to anchor your identity in earthly labels you will always feel unsettled because the categories themselves are inconsistent, unclear and ever-changing. When you recognise that you were created by God and belong to His Kingdom you discover a stable identity that the world cannot give or take away. We understand from Scripture that when Jesus returns to establish the new heaven and the new earth (Revelation 21:1-3), our earthly bodies, with all their variations, will be raised and transformed into glorified bodies reflecting the image of God. Though we may look different, the categories which once divided humanity into different ethnic groups will no longer stand, for we will all share one unified spiritual identity in Him.

When Jesus came to earth, He established the beginning of this Kingdom, making it possible for us to live in this unified identity now. This is why Romans 12:2 teaches us to ‘renew our minds’. As Christians we must never forget that we live on earth but are heaven-bound. God has given us beautiful variation in language, appearance and culture on earth, but in His Kingdom these physical distinctions no longer define us or carry any significant weight.

The Contemporary English Version of the Bible makes this very clear when the apostle Paul says in Galatians 3:28, “Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman”. This emphasises that in the Kingdom of God, what remains as the most important and enduring identity is the one we have in Christ Jesus. That is why we are no longer defined by earthly cultures. Though God still works through culture to achieve His will, we are called to live by the pattern and example of Jesus Christ who reigns in our Kingdom culture. Remember that above all, you are a citizen of the Kingdom.

References

Bible quotations are taken from the New Living Translation (NLT) and the Contemporary English Version (CEV).

Smedly, A. (1997) Origin of the Idea of Race. Available at: https://www.racepowerofanillusion.org/articles/origin-idea-race/ (Accessed: 14 April 2026).

God created the spiritual aspect of human beings out of His own being rather than out of anything from the physical world. – Dr. Myles Munroe