Roman R. Williams, Ph.D.

Founder

Roman Williams is the founder of Interfaith Photovoice, an organization that combines photography and sociology for intergroup and interfaith engagement. He holds a Ph.D. in the sociology of religion from Boston University and a Th.M. focused on global religions from Gordon-Conwell Seminary. Roman was a tenured associate professor of sociology at Calvin University (2012–2020) and served as the executive officer of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (2016–2021). His academic publications combine his interests in lived religion and participatory visual methodologies, which come together in his edited volume, Seeing Religion (Routledge, 2015).

During his years in higher education, Roman experienced a shift in his personal and professional interests, one that led him into community-based participatory action research. The pandemic gave him the opportunity to step out of higher education and into his own consulting practice focused on belief, belonging, and human flourishing. Today, he fancies the idea that he is helping to make the world a better and more inclusive place one photo at a time. Roman’s forthcoming book, Sacred Snaps: Photovoice for Interfaith Engagement (co-authored with Cathy Holtmann and Bill Sachs), invites others into this work.