Webinar Recap: The Role of Faith Communities in Preserving Democracy
For many Americans, religious values and commitments are the primary motivator for their engagement in civic life. Understanding how diverse types of religious communities approach this intersection of faith and democracy has been a learning focus for PACE over the last three years through our Faith In/And Democracy project. We know that the ways in which Americans live out their spiritual values in public life is varied and complex; and we have learned through experiments in our philanthropic laboratory that our field has not always done a good job of listening to or understanding this intersection. As a result, at times, philanthropy has not known how best to engage with religious communities or fund their civic activities.
To address this gap, Democracy Funders Network hosted a webinar for funders entitled “The Role of Faith Communities in Preserving Democracy” on Thursday, September 8, 2022. Three panelists and the community of funders who gathered for this event discussed the threats and challenges, current civic activities, and key insights related to funding at the intersection of faith and democracy. PACE CEO Kristen Cambell joined Sojourners President Adam Taylor and One American Movement President and CEO Andrew Hanauer on the panel. Each of these leaders is deeply committed to helping philanthropy be a more effective partner with faith communities in advancing democracy and civic engagement.
While it was a rich hour of learning across many themes and topics, a few insights from the panelists have stayed with us. We believe they merit further amplification within philanthropy–not just because they are learnings that are important for us in philanthropy to hear, but also because they demonstrate the ways that religious communities are concerned with and committed to the health and vibrancy of American democracy.
- Religious leaders across traditions are acutely aware of the threats that a resurgent movement of White Christian nationalism poses for our democracy and are actively working to counter its influence in their own communities and in civic spaces. Internally, religious leaders are speaking out against White Christian nationalism using the texts, beliefs, and moral visions within their traditions. Externally, religious communities are mobilizing people to help with a variety of efforts to ensure free and fair elections.
- Religious leaders, and especially pastors who lead within the broader evangelical Christian movement, are struggling to find effective ways to combat misinformation and conspiracy theories that have taken hold among their members. They feel under-resourced and under-equipped to counter extreme right-wing and anti-democratic messaging on social media and cable news, and yet they know that they need to use their social capital and moral authority to speak against lies and heresies.
- There are over 350,000 houses of worship and 228,000 faith-inspired organizations in the United States; many of them are already engaged in civic activities, even if they would not immediately think to name their efforts as such. By paying attention and listening, funders will find partners within these communities who are leveraging their spaces as part of our civic infrastructure, acting as critical first responders in social and political flashpoints in addition to natural disasters, supporting character development and moral imagination, addressing civil rights, and promoting social justice.
So what can philanthropy do?
- Build relationships with religious leaders and communities in order to listen and learn about what they are doing already and where they need support in their civic engagement efforts
- Incorporate religious literacy and learning into organizational DEI efforts
- Hold and live into the uncomfortable tension between what religious communities do at their best and what they might do at their worst
- Set aside the need to have full alignment with any particular religious group and work with religious communities on issues and efforts where there is alignment and that advance democracy
- Access resources available through PACE, DFN, and other philanthropy serving organizations.
PACE is committed to continuing this conversation with our network of funders and to helping the field of philanthropy work more effectively and substantively with religious communities of various kinds, sizes, and traditions. We believe that our efforts to foster a pluralistic, multicultural, multi-faith democracy are strengthened by working alongside religious communities to advance a society that is just, fair, and equitable for all.
