The Spirit is Willing, but the Flesh is Weak: Race and Congregation-based Social Justice Activism

Speakers:

Ronald Brown, PhD Professor, Department of Political Science, Wayne State University

R. Khari Brown, PhD, MSW , Professor, Department of Sociology, Wayne State University

Join us on campus at the:

Freer House

71 E. Ferry St., Detroit, MI 48202

ABSTRACT
Roughly a quarter of American religious congregations are involved in community organizing campaigns in pursuit of more socially just policies, such as water equity, organizing to end police brutality, reducing the pollutants that industries emit, providing a path to citizenship for undocumented migrants, ending military interventions in foreign nations, and the like (Chaves 2021; 2023). Nonetheless, the conditions under which religious congregations pursue social justice aims are not entirely clear, particularly regarding the racial composition of religious congregations’ leadership and congregants. Relying upon two national surveys (The National Congregations Survey and the National Survey of Religious Leaders), along with in-depth interviews and our participant observation of activist faith-based organizations, we pursue this inquiry by examining why and how race matters to congregation-based social justice