Finding common ground on complex political and social issues can feel increasingly challenging. Yet, evangelical churches hold a unique potential to bridge divides and foster understanding. By emphasizing the power of relational communities, churches can become powerful agents for addressing and alleviating societal tensions.

At their core, evangelical churches are built on the principle of community—where relationships are valued and nurtured. This relational focus allows for open, honest dialogue and deeper connections that transcend political and social differences. By creating spaces where individuals from diverse backgrounds come together in meaningful ways, evangelical churches can turn complex issues into opportunities for shared growth and mutual respect.

In this episode of The Good Faith Podcast, Curtis is joined by Dr. Hahrie Han, a distinguished political scientist at Johns Hopkins University and the Director of the SNF Agora Institute. Dr. Han sheds light on how cross-racial relationships within faith communities can not only address but also heal racial divisions, fostering a deeper sense of belonging, and why tackling questions of race and politics directly, rather than simplifying them into political buzzwords, can transform divisive issues into opportunities for unity and shared experience.

Drawing from Dr. Han’s research on a multi-ethnic evangelical church in Cincinnati, and insights from Redeeming Babel’s “The After Party” project, their discussion offers a compelling look at how fostering strong, relational communities within these faith-based settings can pave the way for more nuanced conversations and collaborative solutions to the pressing challenges of our time.

This excerpt has been edited for length and clarity.

Dr. Hahrie Han: Most Americans are exhausted. Most people are actually hungry to hear people who aren’t just going to echo back the same ideas that they already hold, but to be in relationship with all different kinds of people. And there just aren’t those kinds of opportunities for us to encounter those kinds of people as often as we used to.

Particularly, I think the small group is really important. One analogy that I like to use sometimes is the idea that our behaviors flow from the commitments that we have. My husband and I have been married for 25 years. I’m very grateful for our relationship, but when we fight, we fight like we want to stay married, right? We don’t fight like we want to get divorced. And I’m sure if you’ve looked at relationships, some people fight like they want to actually break up and some people fight like they want to stay together.

Of course we disagree, but we’re committed to figuring out how we’re going to forge a common life together. And so that means that when we disagree, we disagree in ways that make that possible. The same thing is true if you think not just about our families, but any community that you’re a part of, either you disagree in ways that help you forge this common life, or ways that break that possibility of that common life apart.

And I think one of the things that the small groups do is create this crucible of commitment and relationship. It’s the casseroles that you bring when someone’s mom is sick. All the things that we’re talking about, those are the things that forge the kind of commitments that say, ‘you know what, even if I don’t totally agree with you, you were there for me when I really needed it. And so I have this commitment to you that’s going to make me want to figure this out with you.’