The murder of George Floyd in 2020 and subsequent calls for a reckoning with systematic racism forced many religious leaders to confront the question of how to talk about race in their congregations, even when, in more settled times, leaders of many non-Black churches would normally not have discussed racial justice at all. Researchers from the Religion and Public Life Center at the Boniuk Institute found that, among many leaders of non-Black congregations, a variety of responses emerged, including the feeling of being called to openly take a stand against racial injustice, experiencing tensions in one's congregation and therefore adopting more cautious strategies for engaging the issue, and avoiding the issue altogether by claiming that racial justice is primarily a political issue that should only be addressed in church settings in direct relation to biblical teachings.
RPLC researchers found that, efforts to engage with racial justice by non-Black church leaders were mostly symbolic due to a higher likelihood for ideological divides within their congregations. In fact, the authors contend that, despite being seen as important moral leaders, the way that religious leaders discuss race is substantively shaped by their congregations and the perceived responses of their members.In majority Black congregations, however, this struggle over the realities of racism did not exist, but were instead seen as a given. Conversations on racial injustice in majority Black congregations was looked upon as a continuation of a longtime discussion rather than a new response to current events.
