How Race Works, and Why it Matters for the Church
During this symposium, Dr. Michael Emerson, sociology professor at Rice University, will be speaking on race and the church, drawing especially on Ephesians 6:12. His talk will be followed by a free luncheon and conversation moderated by Dr. Peter Cha. A TEDS alumnus, Rev. Peter Hong, will also be joining the conversation. He is a 1.5 generation Korean American who planted a multiracial church in Chicago ten years ago. The church is called New Community Covenant Church and now has about 600 members.
Biography
Michael Emerson (Ph.D., Sociology, 1991, University of North Carolina) teaches courses in race and ethnic relations, religion, urban sociology, poverty and justice, and research methods at Rice University. Emerson’s recent research interests include race in shaping social action in the United States, focusing on health, residential segregation, and on the institution of religion. Publications in this area include Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America (Oxford University Press, 2000), named the 2001 Distinguished Book of the Year by the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, People of the Dream: Multiracial Congregations in the United States (Princeton University Press, 2006). Emerson currently directs the Panel Study of American Religion and Ethnicity (PS-ARE), and is the co-director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research. Other areas of research interest include urban growth, development, inequality, and urban life.
