"Thinking about ‘community’ has helped me understand the relationship between religion and social justice.” – Shilpa Rao in Community, Faith, and Social Justice (2018)
Social justice movements in US history have been led by faith leaders and secular activists alike, working together towards common goals, driven by shared moral imperatives. Some faith traditions, such as Unitarian Universalism, explicitly define their commitment to social justice as a tenet of their faith. There are a multitude of examples of transformational social change work led by faith-based organizations and leaders throughout history:
- The Poor People’s Campaign builds on the work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others who called for a “revolution of values” in America.
- The Moral Movement led by Rev. D. William J. Barber, driven by the nonprofit Repairers of the Breach, which strives for equal protection under the law, peace within and among nations, the dignity of all people, and shared responsibility to care for our homes.
- Side With Love is a public advocacy campaign of the Unitarian Universalist Association that seeks to harness love’s power to stop oppression.
- Love Resists is a Unitarian Universalist campaign to resist the harm inflicted by criminalization to create safer, more just, welcoming and sustainable communities.
Furthermore, Reverend Doctor Brandon Thomas Crowley invites readers to consider “spiritual allyship,” a theological framework and strategy for Black churches and their clergy who wish to become allies for survivors of gender-based violence. NRCDV’s TA Guidance Supplement by Dr. Crowley (November 2023), Spiritual Allyship: Practical Strategies for Black Churches Ministering to Survivors of Gender-Based Violence, interrogates the violence of gender-based violence and explores how white supremacy, heteronormativity, sexism, transphobia, and homophobia are weaponized as tools of oppression for survivors.
Spirituality can empower social justice warriors – activists, advocates, faith leaders, healers, visionaries – to transform themselves and their worlds. Spiritual activism, therefore, can play an important role in movement building and social change.
- Spiritual activism is “a way of life and a call to action.”
- It includes specific actions designed to challenge individual and systemic racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of social injustice.
- “Spiritual activism is spirituality for social change, spirituality that recognizes the many differences among us yet insists on our commonalities and uses these commonalities as catalysts for transformation” (Keating, 2005).
In the video, Spiritual Activism, Reverend Dereca Blackmon breaks down how our spirituality connects with the inner activist in all of us.
"For me, spiritual activism is daily, active, ongoing, anti-oppressive thoughts, speech, and actions — and inaction, at times — informed by a connection with spiritual power, whether that’s secular or non-secular. It begins with inner work, which I find is most supported by culturally informed and culturally appreciated spiritual practices best suited to each person." – Rachel Ricketts, How Spiritual Activism Can Lead to Social Transformation (2021)