Self-identified white Christians are becoming less and less concerned about racial injustices in America, according to a new report set out by the Barna Group.
The findings, made available to the public this week, reported that 33 percent of white Christians believed the United States “definitely” had a race problem. This was down from 40 percent in 2019. Black Christians, on the other hand, overwhelmingly (81 percent) believed that the nation “definitely” had a race issue, up from 75 percent from last year. Hispanic Christians stayed about the same, reporting 54 percent in 2019 and 55 percent in 2020.
Black Christians were also found to be more motivated to address racial issues. Those who were “very motivated” climbed from 33 percent in 2019 to 46 percent in 2020. White Christians, however, continued to decline. Those who were “not at all motivated” to address racial issues rose from 11 percent in 2019 to 22 percent in 2020.
Despite the declines, more white Christians believed that the United States historically has been oppressive to minorities in 2020 (48 percent) than in 2019 (48 percent). Those who disagree with the statement dropped down from 30 percent in 2019 to 23 percent this year.
Barna surveyed 1,525 adults living in the United States online from June 18-July 6. The survey was conducted shortly after Barna’s President, David Kinnaman, created a blog post calling Christians to act against racial injustice.
“Simply put, most white Christians miss and misunderstand the lived experience of Black Christians. We’ve been tracking this gap for years, including the higher degree to which Black Christians perceive police brutality, experience the effects of racism and believe the effects of slavery continue to this day,” wrote Kinnaman.
“It is the Church’s responsibility to reject racism, embrace responsibility to tear down unjust and white-centered systems and, in the Spirit’s power, advance justice and reconciliation.”