06 Dec 2024 Author of the Month: Dr. Rebecca Glazier

By Susan L. Peterson 

Places of worship are especially important for individuals and families during the holiday season.

“Faith and Community: How Engagement Strengthens Members, Places of Worship, and Society” is a newly published work by Dr. Rebecca Glazier. Using Little Rock as her open-air research project, she discovered the many benefits of religious engagement and the vital role it plays in communities throughout the year.

After earning her doctorate, Glazier came to the 501 area in 2009 as an assistant professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Here, she said, people asked her a question she had never heard before: “Do you have a church home?”

She recalls that, in 2012, it was that question combined with the political atmosphere at the time (the Obama vs. Romney election) that led her to develop a long-term, community-engaged research project entitled “The Little Rock Congregations Study.” She and her students wondered how people were thinking about religion and politics. To find answers, Glazier offered her students the opportunity to go into the community and get responses directly from the people. 

Various methods were used, such as focus groups, interviews, surveys and in-depth case studies. The project grew year by year, and by 2024 they had surveyed more than 4,000 congregants, interviewed nearly 300 clergy, and conducted in-depth case studies with seven congregations.

Although the first part of the book may be heavy with statistics, later chapters offer a more narrative tone. One reviewer writes that the book “offers readers close looks at a number of Little Rock religious organizations—Christian, Islamic and Jewish—as they relate to Little Rock’s very specific history and community. These descriptions are rich and affirming. The stories and observations Glazier offers are powerful because they are both data-driven and alive with the presence and the voices of so many of the amazing people she met along the way, both leaders and followers.”

Glazier has reported on her study at numerous academic conferences and congregations. In 2023, she was awarded the American Political Science Association’s (APSA) Distinguished Award for Civic and Community Engagement. It is presented annually by the APSA “to honor significant civic or community engagement activity by a political scientist which merges knowledge and practice and has an impact outside of the profession or the academy,” according to politicalsciencenow.com.

Data from the project illustrates how community engagement benefits individuals, congregations and democracy and offers a solution to “what ails religion in America today.” She believes her research has implications for religious leaders seeking to grow and involve their congregations. Although many church leaders say they don’t have resources or time, engaging volunteers and developing a culture of service reaps multiple benefits. Her study also supports the finding that young people are looking for this type of involvement. Ultimately, developing a culture of service benefits not only the community, but the nation as a whole.

Also emanating from the research is a free resource guide for congregations interested in pursuing faith-based racial justice and reconciliation work.

Today, Glazier is a full professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In addition to religion and politics, other research interests focus on foreign policy, political communication and pedagogy.

In addition to an impressive list of articles and book chapters she has published during the past decade, she also authored “Connecting in the Online Classroom: Building Rapport between Teachers and Students,” published in 2021.

Glazier received her Bachelor of Arts in liberal studies from California State University Channel Islands in 2004. She then continued her studies, earning a master’s degree in 2006 and a doctoral degree in 2009 in political science from the University of California Santa Barbara. She had never been to Arkansas before taking the position at UALR. But through her research, she has become an integral member of the Little Rock community, helping Arkansans understand the continued impacts of race, religion and economic opportunity.

In 2024, Glazier joined the board of the Interfaith Center of Arkansas, and she plans to focus on the impact of interfaith work for the next stage of the “Little Rock Congregations Study” research. She has received funding from APSA, the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, the Arkansas Community Foundation and multiple denominational foundations in support of her work over the years.

Glazier lives in Little Rock with her husband, Andy Manchester, and her 12-year-old son, Wilk Glazier. More about her can be found at rebeccaglazier.net, where there is also a link to the findings of the “Little Rock Congregation Study.” Her books are available in paperback, hardback and digital formats from Amazon.