Researchers at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock investigate the function of congregations in racial justice

Little Rock, Arkansas – Researchers from the University of Arkansas Little Rock examined how religious organizations contribute to racial fairness.

Since 2012, a poll on racial fairness has been done every four years.

The most recent poll, however, revealed a specific tendency with respect to a certain category, according to the researchers.

“Race relations was the number one thing people wanted to see their congregation getting involved to help solve,” author of the research, Dr. Rebecca Glazier, noted.

In reaction to the findings, researchers started speaking with members of various faiths in order to provide resources just for the group.

“So we spent the last two years asking survey questions to congregations, interviewing clergy leaders, interviewing national experts on faith-based racial justice, and bringing together and developing resources on these topics,” Glazier said.

The organization is preparing to organize a summit to give materials on race to persons in the faith-based community following ten years of research.

“People see their place of worship as a place where they should be talking about race. They see it as a safe space to talk about what can be a really difficult issue,” Glazier said.

Glazier stated that they will conduct the survey once more in 2024 and anticipate receiving more responses from additional congregations.

Glazier added that all of the prepared resources would be made available online following the summit on November 2.