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At a time when the criminal justice system is looking for alternatives to prison, the church has an important role to play in helping those who need it most, says a Dallas assistant city attorney.
Teenagers from an Iowa church youth group and Baltimore schoolchildren take a break during a summer learning camp. Photo by J.M. Giordano
At Baltimore’s The Center, church groups from across the U.S. work with outreach ministries of local congregations while learning about the theology of missions and the root causes of poverty and racism. Organizers hope they will apply these lessons in their home communities.
Photo courtesy of Velda Love
The United Church of Christ’s minister for racial justice helps people get started and stay on the journey of dismantling racism and deconstructing whiteness.
Detail from the book cover of "Breaking White Supremacy: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Black Social Gospel" by Gary Dorrien.
Though often overlooked by historians, the black social gospel -- a black church variant of the social gospel -- played a major role in the theology and ministry of Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement, says the seminary professor and author.
The Rev. William J. Barber, left, and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove are working together on the Poor People's Campaign, a nationwide effort to "challenge the evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation and the nation’s distorted morality." Photo courtesy of Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
Understanding the way that America’s history has subverted our reading of the Bible is necessary if we are to be freed from institutional racism and to embrace a Christianity that recognizes the equal worth of every person, says the author of “Reconstructing the Gospel.”
It's important that white people who care about racial reconciliation and healing have difficult conversations in their own communities -- such as church, says Carolyn B. Helsel. Bigstock/Kasia Bialasiewicz
White people may feel shame and guilt about racism -- but that should not halt the conversation, says the author of the new book “Anxious to Talk About It.”
Book cover detail
The church is called to stand against the phenomenon of mass incarceration in the United States, says a pastor and author of “Rethinking Incarceration” in an interview.
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The challenge facing much of the church in the U.S. is the challenge of pluralism, says a sociologist who studies race and religion. Can the church equip itself to engage with an increasingly diverse society?
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The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was never a solitary, mythical figure during the civil rights movement, and people involved in the struggle today should not look for such a leader. Instead, we should look for the leader within and the leaders all around us, who emerge from the ground up, says the dean of the faculty at Christian Theological Seminary.
The Rev. Alvin Edwards (left) visits with the Rev. Alvin Horton, pastor of First United Methodist Church, during a meeting of the Charlottesville Clergy Collective.
Photo by Richard Lord
When crisis hit Charlottesville last summer, local clergy were prepared to help lead, thanks in part to newly rebuilt relationships and trust, says the leader of the Charlottesville Clergy Collective.