RPCNA denomination excludes pastor for racist statements

The Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America’s Presbytery of the Alleghenies on Saturday excommunicated Rev. Samuel Ketcham for his advocacy of kinism, the belief that insurmountable differences between races exist and justify some type of discrimination. After a trial, a church court also stripped Ketcham of his ordination as a pastor in the denomination, according to Presbyterian church-watcher Eli McGowan. An attendee of Ketcham’s trial confirmed its results to WORLD. A supporter of Ketcham’s, Michael Spangler, also referenced the trial results in a statement on social media. 

The denomination in November charged Ketcham with making extensive online statements on race that violated the third, fifth, sixth, and ninth commandments, according to a charge list. 

What were some of Ketcham’s objectionable statements? He wrote in a public Substack article, cited in the charges, that it was not a sin to state that white people were naturally superior to other races. He also wrote that black people should not expect to be successful in highly “cognitive professions.” He neither denied nor refused the label of kinism, he wrote.

What happened at his trial? Several witnesses testified during Ketcham’s trial before the Judicial Commission of the Presbytery of the Alleghenies in Pittsburgh. One witness was Spangler, a supporter of Ketcham who was administratively divested from a different presbyterian denomination, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, in 2024 partially due to similar racial views. Ketcham was also allowed more than an hour of rebuttal time, an attendee of the trial told WORLD. He stressed that the gospel was for all nations, but doubled down on his statements about differences between races, according to the attendee. After the judgment against Ketcham, he quoted a passage of Scripture about rejoicing during persecution, according to Spangler.

The prosecutor during the trial, Rev. Drew Poplin, recently wrote an article rebutting kinism as a heresy. Poplin is an associate pastor at the church headed by pastor Kent Butterfield. Butterfield’s wife, Rosaria, is known for her writing and speaking on issues of faith and sexuality.

Dig deeper: Read Mary Jackson’s article for WORLD Magazine on a rise in anti-Semitism among young Christian men.