2025/07/04 by Glenn E. Bracey, Tryce Prince, Isaiah Jeong +2 · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #American Constitutional Law and Politics #Religion and Society Interactions #Religion, Society, and Development
paper · doi:10.1080/1462317x.2025.2519812
openalex publication_date 2025/07/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/14
More than five decades after Martin Luther King Jr. questioned white America's commitment to racial justice, similar concerns persist. King highlighted themes of white apathy, backlash, and especially the hesitancy of white Christians to support civil rights despite their professed values. Today, amid renewed struggles for racial equity, these questions remain relevant-not only for white Americans but for a more diverse electorate. Using data from a new national survey, this study explores whether Americans recognize a race problem, whether they are motivated to address it, and how Christian belief influences these views. We find that evangelical belief increases motivation to combat injustice but correlates with less recognition of racial inequality. Christian nationalism remains linked to racial apathy among whites and Asians, but can motivate support for justice among Black and Latinx Christians. These findings challenge simplified narratives about religion and race, showing the importance of racial and religious identity in shaping views on justice.