The Final Solution
June 14th, 2004, 08:52 AM
How monochromatic is church membership? Racial-ethnic diversity in religious community
Sociology of Religion, Spring, 2003 by Kevin D. Dougherty
It is a common conception that the church is among the most segregated of American institutions. A troubling refrain is that 11:00 AM Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America. The color-coding of American religion attracts attention and motivates calls for change from within. U.S. Bishops issued a pastoral letter in 1984 advocating the American Catholic Church to "broaden the embrace" extended to Hispanics and to all new immigrant groups in an effort to enhance diversity within the Church. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a Protestant denomination which emerged from white ethnic groups, adopted a statement on racial-ethnic diversity in 1993 that made it a formal goal of the denomination to have African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, or Native Americans represent ten percent of membership within ten years. Even in religious traditions noted for their racialized history, movements toward integration appear. At the 2001 Southern Baptist Convention, for the first time in denominational hist ory, America's largest Protestant denomination took a symbolic step by inviting an African American pastor from a multiracial congregation to deliver the prestigious convention sermon
The explanatory power of religious tradition is well noted for a variety of social behaviors. Its importance in promoting racial-ethnic diversity reflects a confluence of polity, theology, liturgy, and organizational history. Faith groups provide a basis for recognized similarity across racial-ethnic groups. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Roman Catholic Church. Research on religious adherents and religious communities documents the racial-ethnic diversity engendered within Catholicism
Of more profound significance is a second question -- should diversity be a goal of religious communities? Perhaps homogeneity is necessary to produce religious vitality. A distinct racial-ethnic identity is a source of strength and vitality, especially for religious communities composed of minority groups (Dudley and Roozen 2001). The role of the black church in fostering a collective identity and mobilizing individuals to social action demonstrates the strategic influence homogeneity can play for a minority group (Lincoln and Mamiya 1990). The religious communities of today's new immigrants play a similar role (Warner and Wittner 1998; Ebaugh and Chafetz 2000). After all, religion is a cultural phenomenon. If religious communities that have high participation and growing memberships are those that best address the culturally embedded preferences of a specific market niche (see Stark and Finke 2000), then successful congregations and parishes will continue to be homogeneous. The net effect of this homogeneity may be higher levels of religious belonging and participation at the societal level.
Full: http://articles.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SOR/is_1_64/ai_99984518
Sociology of Religion, Spring, 2003 by Kevin D. Dougherty
It is a common conception that the church is among the most segregated of American institutions. A troubling refrain is that 11:00 AM Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America. The color-coding of American religion attracts attention and motivates calls for change from within. U.S. Bishops issued a pastoral letter in 1984 advocating the American Catholic Church to "broaden the embrace" extended to Hispanics and to all new immigrant groups in an effort to enhance diversity within the Church. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a Protestant denomination which emerged from white ethnic groups, adopted a statement on racial-ethnic diversity in 1993 that made it a formal goal of the denomination to have African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, or Native Americans represent ten percent of membership within ten years. Even in religious traditions noted for their racialized history, movements toward integration appear. At the 2001 Southern Baptist Convention, for the first time in denominational hist ory, America's largest Protestant denomination took a symbolic step by inviting an African American pastor from a multiracial congregation to deliver the prestigious convention sermon
The explanatory power of religious tradition is well noted for a variety of social behaviors. Its importance in promoting racial-ethnic diversity reflects a confluence of polity, theology, liturgy, and organizational history. Faith groups provide a basis for recognized similarity across racial-ethnic groups. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Roman Catholic Church. Research on religious adherents and religious communities documents the racial-ethnic diversity engendered within Catholicism
Of more profound significance is a second question -- should diversity be a goal of religious communities? Perhaps homogeneity is necessary to produce religious vitality. A distinct racial-ethnic identity is a source of strength and vitality, especially for religious communities composed of minority groups (Dudley and Roozen 2001). The role of the black church in fostering a collective identity and mobilizing individuals to social action demonstrates the strategic influence homogeneity can play for a minority group (Lincoln and Mamiya 1990). The religious communities of today's new immigrants play a similar role (Warner and Wittner 1998; Ebaugh and Chafetz 2000). After all, religion is a cultural phenomenon. If religious communities that have high participation and growing memberships are those that best address the culturally embedded preferences of a specific market niche (see Stark and Finke 2000), then successful congregations and parishes will continue to be homogeneous. The net effect of this homogeneity may be higher levels of religious belonging and participation at the societal level.
Full: http://articles.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SOR/is_1_64/ai_99984518