"Race" as a concept outside of the immediate nation-state/tribe is a relatively new idea. The only time I've seen it pop up is when Europeans came into direct conflict with non-white invaders in Europe. In such cases, Christianity was the closest thing to a representative of a white racial identity. That is to say, religion was race in places like the Iberian peninsula and the Balkans for well over five centuries respectively in both areas.
I don't think the idea of a white race sans religion began being formed until white and non-white populaces began co-existing for long periods of time in the Americas.
Christianity can be condemned from a racial perspective for its conversion principles, yet this same thing is the very foundation of the concept of Europe; of a people with a common bond.
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