Martien A. Halvorson-Taylor

The Religion, Race & Democracy Lab at the University of Virginia (UVA) is developing pursue public-facing documentaries in multiple media on the centrality of religion and race in global democracies. By interrogating how religion intersects with and helps construct racial identity, and by exploring how religion is expressed, managed, and channeled in democracies around the world, we aim to enrich and expand how the public conceives of “religion.” Our project consists of three components: 1) “writing with perspective” workshops for UVA undergraduate and graduate students, 2) seminars with professionals in the fields of journalism and the documentary arts to provide inspiration and best practices for reporting at the intersection of religion, race, and global democratic movements, and 3) the production of three audio documentaries by three recent PhD students to explore the dynamics of religion, race, and democracy as seen through events happening in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Collectively, this innovative and collaborative production of scholarship on religion, race, and democracy aims to bridge the gap that has traditionally separated scholarly work from communities outside of academia.