Racism as a Public Health Crisis

In 2022, the 225th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) reviewed, approved, and transmitted a resolution from the Racial Equity Advocacy Committee (REAC) identifying racism as a public health crisis. This resolution urged Presbyterians to raise their consciousness and awareness about this crisis’s theological, bioethical, and public health perspectives and to respond with specific actions. The subsequent statement briefly delineates key theological and bioethical affirmations central to this crisis, aiming to heighten the church’s awareness. REAC monitored, reviewed, and revised the statement accordingly.

It is noteworthy that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) also shares numerous articles that declare racism a public health crisis.[1] Thus, our statement is not speculative but provides theological and bioethical support for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, manifested through science.

Download and Refer to this document if you want to read the complete statement. Racism_PublicHealthCrisis_TheologicalBioethicalPerspectives_GA2024

***Unauthorized distribution or dissemination of this statement is strictly prohibited. The copyright for this content is held exclusively by Everyday God-talk, Office of Theology and Worship, A Corp, PC(USA). You can access this on our Everyday God-talk blog (https://www.presbyterianmission.org/every-day-god-talk).***

[1] For example, read the article “Racism as Public Health Crisis: Assessment and Review of Municipal Declarations and Resolutions Across the United States (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8385329/), originally published in Frontiers in Public Health (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.686807/full)