Unravelling Racism: A Study of Lived Understandings of Racism in Interracial Church Partnerships

Abstract This article explores local church congregants’ lived understandings of racism and reflects on what these yield for Christian practical theology aimed at disrupting racism in the Netherlands. We build on case study research on four partnerships between Global Majority Heritage congregations and Global Minority Heritage congregations. It appears that although congregants recognise racism in Dutch society to some extent, this does not translate into awareness of manifestations of racism within churches. We also demonstrate how particularly Global Minority Heritage congregants experience discomfort with their power position in racism.