Date

4-26-2024

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)

Chair

Jeffrey Davis

Keywords

Racial unity, racism, social justice, Evangelical churches, Chicago, African American, White American, local church, unity

Disciplines

Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Abstract

“Racism in the United States is part of a much older and global phenomenon” that has effects that are seen “today in hearts, minds, and institutions” (Lovelace, 2021, p. 67). Regarding the African American population, housing discrimination continues to be an obstacle to families (Burke et al., 2018), racist systems have led to collateral damage in the health of adults (Bleich et al., 2019), and African American men constitute approximately 25% of police shooting victims (Schwartz, 2020). This study seeks to examine if racism has infiltrated into the local church. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the perception or experiential knowledge of racial unity between White Evangelical church leaders and their African American congregants and community members in the Chicago area. Within the context of this study, the researcher defines “racial disunity” as intentional disconnect or apathy toward unity between African American congregants or community members and the predominately White local church. The theory that guided this study was transformative leadership and its power to harness social justice engagement to address societal concerns regarding the subject matter. Through semi-structured focus groups and interviews, a small cross-section of the local church community in Chicago informed the researcher as to their perception of underline themes of racial unity within the local church and community. Additionally, the research provided transformative discussions and solution suggestions for local churches to demonstrate biblical unity within the city.

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