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Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4524-4670

Date Available

6-2-2025

Year of Publication

2023

Document Type

Capstone

Degree Name

Doctor of Social Work (DSW)

Faculty

Dr. Laura Escobar-Ratliff

Abstract

Over the past three years, the tragic deaths of many people of color have renewed nationwide discourse on racial injustices and racism. White churches seeking to become anti-racist are confronted with a number of obstacles. This capstone project addresses the topic of Engaging Predominantly White Churches in Racial Justice Work through three interconnected scholarly products. Each product draws from the research of sociology, psychology, social work, education, and religion to investigate a different aspect of the overarching subject.

The Systematic Literature Review examines the impact of white racial identity on the racial attitudes of Predominantly White Church (PWC) congregants. Evidence suggests a link between white identity and negative racial attitudes, beliefs, and discriminatory behavior. Churches exist as racialized spaces informed by whiteness ideology. Findings also indicate the malleability of white racial attitudes.

The Conceptual Paper presents an educational framework grounded in critical consciousness, intersectionality, and contemporary emotion theory. Central to this instruction is a critical analysis of assumptions, implicit biases, foundational values, and worldviews. This framework addresses the unique challenges of anti-racist training with PWCs. Factors such as homophily and white racial affects present significant barriers for white churches seeking to become anti-racist organizations.

The Practice Application Paper proposes an educational intervention utilizing the integrated framework presented in the Conceptual Paper. Instructional curricula operationalize critical consciousness, intersectionality, and contemporary emotion theory. Critical conversations with church leadership consider white racial identity, white racial affects, and white culture at the individual and corporate levels. Helm’s White Racial Identity Development model and Jackson’s Continuum on Becoming an Anti-Racist Multi-Cultural Institution form the core of the intervention. There is an intentional centering of the works from scholars of color to examine the dynamics of power, access, and accountability.

In the conclusion section, three primary findings across the scholarly products are detailed: whiteness as a central organizing ideology with individuals and organizations, the optimism that white people and white-dominant churches can modify their white identities, and the potential efficacy of critical consciousness-based education in transforming white racial identities into anti-racist identities. Implications for social work include the expansion of education into the context of PWCs, the importance of utilizing multiple theories to engage white-majority churches in anti-racist training, and the necessity for social workers to be continually involved in their own critical consciousness development. Suggestions for additional research are provided as well as limitations, future research areas, and implications for practice and policy.

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