Program areas at Soulforce
Campaigns & direct action: modeling a diversity of engagement strategies that decloak institutionalized oppression, provide meaningful opportunities for participation in nonviolent activism to our members, and seek accountability from systems and institutions. Since 2021, Soulforce has served as the fiscal sponsor of the religiousexemption accountability project (reap). Reap fights for the safety, bodily autonomy, justice, and human rights of lgbtqia+ and other communities marginalized at many predominantly white, taxpayer-funded religious schools and colleges. Using campus organizing, storytelling through podcasting, documentary film, and speaking andpreaching on campuses throughout the country, reap empowers students, faculty, staff, and alumni at these institutions to advocate for human rights, while shining a light on the dangers and abuses of a major educational pipeline of white christian supremacy.
Political & theological education: creating content delivered via writing, audiovisual content, workshops, presentations, and briefings that weave together political analysis, theological research, and activist praxis. Our online spirit resource library is a collection of free, accessible, spirit-led political and theological resources that center our commitment to justice for all marginalized people. In 2023, these free resources were downloaded 1,161 times. Soulforce theological resources are available in english, spanish, kinyarwanda, swahili, luganda, zulu, and french.
Spiritual reclamation and healing: developing language, tools, and spaces that center spiritual reclamation as an act of political sovereignty at the crux of our activism and movements. In 2022, Soulforce launched the institute on spiritual violence, healing, and social change. The interdisciplinary work of the institute brings together professionals from the social sciences, activists, religious leaders and other civil society actors. Our common goal is to confront spiritual and religion-based violence affecting women, lgbtqia+ people, people of color, many marginalized groups who live within specific hostile environments of christian fundamentalism and all of us who live more broadly under the imperialist powers of white christian supremacy. One of the institute's main goals is to end all forms of sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts (sogice), commonly referred to as "conversion therapy".
Research and strategy: we deploy research and strategy on the pervasive ideologies of christian supremacy and corresponding political power and actions of the religious right, studying the connections among ideologies and institutions that morally justify and reinforce oppression together in movement with other communities and organizations. Our team responds regularly to consultation requests from parties that are seeking support in understanding the parasitic relationship between religion and power, and how it affects the lives of marginalized communities around the world. We have collaborated with public policy advocates, clinical social workers, and legislative bodies.
Other small programs designed to support the work to end political and religious oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people through relentless nonviolent resistance.