By William L. Sachs, Ph.D. and Roman R. Williams, Ph.D.

The metropolitan area of Richmond, Virginia illustrates the spread of religious and cultural diversity across North America. Population data from 2010 indicate that Muslims represented just under 3 percent of the area’s population, or about 35,000 people (ARDA 2010). Today, this number appears to be growing steadily. There are eight mosques and a Muslim school. Intrareligious diversity is apparent: each mosque is different in its ethnic center of gravity, theological bent, and socioeconomic profile. Like other congregations, there are concerns about finances, leadership, faith formation, and conflict resolution. Shaping the lives of young adults is a priority. Many young Muslims are warmly expressive of their faith and culture. They seek a distinctive place in American life even as they uphold their religious identity. 

In recent decades the pace of dialogue between people of different faiths has increased. We can now speak of both interfaith initiative and religious pluralism in ways that were not possible until the current generation. While global and national developments are noted locally, they do not prove definitive of life in Richmond. Despite awareness of tensions between faiths elsewhere, in Richmond there is evidence that people of diverse faiths can work together to build common good. Clusters of religious people address social needs in nimble ways that government agencies rarely match. For example, a coalition of dozens of congregations called Caritas provides shelter and meals to people in need. In the process, cooperation on various service projects has advanced. 

Of course, there are also formal programs aimed at promoting cross-cultural and interfaith understanding. The Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities promotes understanding in schools, businesses, and public life through education and consultation. Meetings of senior religious leaders, including Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Methodist bishops occur regularly and warmly. But Richmond’s diversity has fueled informal gatherings that go beyond faith distinctions. In one case, clergy and lay people of various faiths, including Christians, Muslims, and Jews, meet occasionally for lunch. With no agenda other than to gather, the group has found much in common. Life in central Virginia prompted various topics: how children were faring, who knew of a good plumber, how to face one’s congregational board, the illness of a spouse, and work with students at a local university, to name a few examples. No topic was off-limits. Likewise, there was no formal dialogue. The goal was understanding and a sense of strong ties arose among the group. The widening circle of interfaith friends was primed for photovoice. 

Participants 

In Richmond, the project focused on Christians and Muslims. The decision to limit this initial application of photovoice to these two religions was due to (1) the composition of the project team and (2) an interest in managing the religion variable while working out our approach to photovoice in interfaith dialogue. Participants comprised eight Muslims and thirteen Christians, ranged in age from 19–73, and included sixteen women and five men. Six participants were college students and the rest held college or graduate degrees. Those who completed college reported household socio-economic statuses in the middle and upper-middle classes. While all our Christian participants indicated that their families immigrated to the United States over 100 years ago, all Muslims migrated after 1969—the most recent arrival was 2013. The majority of participants attended religious services once or twice a week, but for nearly half of the group, this was their first time participating in formal interfaith dialogue. 

Meetings 

In Richmond, recruitment began in the fall of 2017 and included a preview event during which potential participants ate a meal together, were introduced to the project, and had the opportunity to meet the research team. Attendees also learned what photovoice entailed through a discussion of photographs on their smartphones. Along with giving people a taste of what photovoice entails, the preview meeting was an important way for us to generate interest in the project. 

Our first official photovoice meeting took place in early February 2018 at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church. Even though the church was not neutral ground, its longstanding participation in interfaith work made it a familiar and friendly environment for our meetings. During this initial meeting we introduced attendees to the project, completed informed consent, discussed ethical and safety issues in photography, provided tips on composing photographs (e.g., rule of thirds, filling the frame, lighting), and asked participants to complete a demographic questionnaire. We also provided a handout with a photography assignment in which participants were invited to create 10–15 photographs (total) that explored (1) their faith in everyday life, (2) challenges they face as a person of faith in their community, and (3) changes they would like to pursue to strengthen their community. These photographs were emailed to a member of the research team who printed them in preparation for the subsequent meeting.

A week after our initial meeting, the group met for the first of three discussions about their photographs. Participants sat around tables in small groups, with a mix of Muslims and Christians, and discussed their photos. Meetings took place in the evening, after work, and began with a light meal, which provided attendees an opportunity to socialize. After the meal, small groups (3-5 participants) spent approximately 30 minutes exploring one another’s photos and narratives for each of the three topics (faith in everyday life, challenges, and changes), wrestling with each question in turn . Each session ended with an opportunity for each small group to share a summary of their conversations, which allowed for the sharing of ideas across groups. Participants left each meeting with the assignment to continue refining their ideas by finding examples of topics that had emerged in the evening’s conversation, exploring ways to represent their experiences and concerns visually, and composing photographs that spoke to shared interests without glossing over differences.

During the final meeting we led the group through the process of curation. Working in small groups, they sifted and sorted through their photographs and returned to the important themes that were generated at earlier stages of the project. For each selected image, the photographer created a mockup of the photograph using a sheet of paper, which included their photo, a title, caption, and their name. Using painter’s tape, individuals affixed their materials to the wall. As photos were added, individuals perused the emerging collection, considered each piece, and worked together to arrange the photographs into categories. Next, participants used stickers to vote on the most compelling photos, the ones they thought should be included in our exhibition.

After considerable discussion, participants organized their photographs into several broad themes. One set of photographs described “the brokenness of the world” with photographs of homelessness and a broken window. A second theme was titled “ritual and tradition,” which contained images contrasting approaches to prayer in Christianity and Islam, the Christian ritual of the eucharist, a rosary, words from the pages of a participant’s journal, and a Christian foot washing ceremony. Under the heading “faith in everyday life” participants selected six photographs of nature. Other photos brought participants’ internal faith commitments into contact with the challenges they face as persons of faith in a category titled, “external manifestations of internal realities and struggles.” They struggled, for example, over remaining committed to purity and modesty in contrast to contemporary fashion and advertising trends, which were depicted as problematic to both Muslim and Christian participants. A final theme was “acceptance and understanding,” which emerged as the message the group wanted to emphasize as their hope for their community. The photographs selected for the exhibition were enlarged and mounted on foam board.

The collection of images went on display in the main branch of the Richmond Public Library during May 2018. The photos were arranged by theme, which created a compelling visual narrative. An opening night reception coincided with Richmond’s monthly “First Friday” event, which draws community members to downtown on the first Friday of each month. Turnout at our reception included fourteen photovoice participants and approximately 150 guests who passed through the exhibition during a two-and-a-half-hour open house. Many of these visitors were invited by participants with images on display and included friends, family, and members of their religious communities. As people filtered through the exhibition, participants greeted them, shared their experiences as photovoice participants, and briefly discussed the ideas the photographs conveyed.