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Tuesday July 28, 2009 ~ 8 Comments
I am always encouraged when I see research into non-Anglos. Now, don't misunderstand, I am not anti-Anglo. I married one (and she was Canadian, which sounds more Anglo to me) and my three children are Anglo. Oh, I am too. However, there is a lack of good religious research on non-Anglos and I want to point it out and affirm it when it does come out. Perhaps this is on my mind becuase this post will go up as I am presenting new research to the North American Mission Board State Summer Leadership Meeting in Atlanta. My focus will be on the receptivity of First Generation Immigrant Groups to church planting and evangelism. The final report will be done in August and will be released by the North American Mission Board. When it is released, I will post an update here at the blog. (If you are engaged in work among first generation immigrant groups or know someone who is, be sure to take the survey at lifeway.com/immigrantsurvey. It is available in 20 languages.) Research into non-Anglo populations is more difficult primarily because there are fewer people to respond when you are a minority population. But, good research is being done in many different sectors and I was encouraged to read Barna's recent study on the religious views and practices of African-Americans.
From the earliest days of America's history, a deep-rooted spirituality has been one of the hallmarks of the black population in the country. A new study released by The Barna Group underscores that the passage of time has not diminished the importance of faith in the lives of African-Americans.
Specifically, blacks were the group most likely to be born again Christians (59%, compared to a national average of 46%) and were the ethnic segment most likely to consider themselves to be Christian (92% did so, versus 85% nationally). However, they were no more likely than average to qualify as evangelical Christians.
Compared to the other three ethnic groups, blacks emerged as the most likely to engage in each of five church-related activities in a typical week (attending church services, participating in a small group, attending a Sunday school class, praying, and reading the Bible). They were also the most likely to have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life and to have an "active faith" (i.e., attend church services, pray to God and read from the Bible during the week). They also had the lowest proportion of unchurched adults and were the ethnic group least likely to be Catholic.
Blacks today are more likely than they were in the early 1990s to believe that the principles taught in the Bible are totally accurate; to say that their religious faith is very important in their life; to have a biblically orthodox understanding of the nature of God; and to be born again. They are also less likely to strongly affirm that Satan is symbolic, not real; and to contend that a good person can earn his/her way into Heaven.
Head over to Barna to read the entire article and then come back to discuss. I would be particularly interested to hear from our African American brothers and sisters, and those who have ministered in black communities and churches - but the conversation is wide open. What's your reaction to Barna's research? Posted on July 28, 2009 at 8:00 AM ~ 8 Comments Tagged with: african americans, research 8 CommentsLeave a comment |
  
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Wow. This research flies in the face of the media stereotypes of African Americans, where most of the group's depicted as godless rappers or gang members.
I suppose it would help to see some demographic data on those surveyed: Marital status, income level, etc. I wonder if this would reveal what I see in my pastorate, where the lower-class whites may claim Christian belief but follow lifestyles that cast serious doubts on those claims.
Interesting results.
I think it points to a culture of Christianity in the black community. It's notable that they were most likely to be born again, but just as likely to be evangelical.
But it's cool that they are trending toward Orthodoxy!
(disclaimer: I'm not black either, so the above statement is a bit general, forgive me)
As an African-American pastor I do agree that “From the earliest days of America's history, a deep-rooted spirituality has been one of the hallmarks of the black population in the country.” However, I have found that this “spirituality” has been more akin to “oral tradition,” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_tradition) rather than a reasonable and rational response to the study of Scripture.
Principals for living have been passed from one generation to the next in “sayings” like, “I remember my grandma telling me, “You’d betta watch how you treat people because ‘What goes around come around—you’re gonna reap what you sow.’” One who is familiar with the Bible knows that this principal is found in Galatians 6:7. Many in the Black church, who consider themselves spiritual, and would respond high in Barna’s “religious behavior” and “faith statement” surveys, would not be able to use the Bible to substantiate what they believe and why.
Today it’s not difficult to find a “Grandma” who is both a single parent and the “thirty-something” year old matriarch of an African-American clan. Sadly, this grandmother may not even know who Jesus is and is more concerned about “running the streets” than passing on a godly legacy to her offspring.
Other African-Americans who read my response may immediately dismiss me as one who has been isolated from life in the city and my comments may come across as harsh or insensitive. I need to let you know that my wife and I grew up in the city and are products of broken homes. We are both just barely over fifty years old and have (biological) children approaching forty years of age. Not only are we grandparents but could become great-grandparents in the next couple of years (God forbid). As a church planter and pastor, my wife and I are not yet seeing the effects of an African-American population that is reportedly becoming more orthodox. I wonder what role orthodoxy played in the recent election.
These stats are not at all surprising to me. I believe mainly because African American churches have always served the social needs of their communities. Where some of my white mainline denominational/non demonitationl brothers & sister are only in the past 8 years making a big deal about "Social Justice". This has been a hallmark of the 8,000 attendee predominately AA church I serve.
Ideas of being "Missional" "seeker-friendly" "relevant" "unchurched focus" "outreach" are things that specifically succesful AA mega-churches have been doing for years-without reading all these these guys books. That's mainly how they've grown. Reaching & meeting the needs of the surrounding communities is in the DNA of most of our churches. For a culture that has been oppressed church Relevance-seeker-missional-outreach looks totally different & yet there is very little written on this. Thanks for the post Ed.
I am also an African American Pastor. I whole heartily agree with our brother Chuck Brooks. The numbers of the survey may say that African Americans are becoming more Orthodox, but where the rubber meets the road, this is not altogether true. I am a 41 yr old Pastor/Planter, where the average age in the church is about 30 yrs old. Pastor Chuck is correct when he says that they may remember what "Grandmom" use to say, but a personal relationship with Christ,where Jesus is not only Savior but Lord, very few have ever had. Nice article, at least there are a few of my White brothers in Christ paying attention to what's going on in the African American church community
Ralph and Chuck,
Good points. As I think you were implying, just because someone answers a survey (as they obviously did-- I trust Barna to report his numbers), that does not mean they have experienced life change.
Ed
FYI, per USCCB:
There are 2.3 million African American Catholics.
There are 1,300 parishes which are predominantly African American, 75 of which have African-American pastors.
Approximately 250 priests, 300 sisters, and 380 deacons are African American.
Anecdotally, there are more blacks attending Catholic churches in my area of the South than 30 years ago, but they are not "African-American". They are African - from Cameroon and Nigeria predominantly. They are VERY orthodox.
The local Catholic church is like the UN with an even mix of African, Anglo, Indian, Vietnamese, and Hispanic. They are known as the "stained glass parish" due to their membership.
God bless...
I read the article and it appears to be an interesting overall study. However, there is a word that I need qualified to interpret the article correctly. I am not sure if the definition is given in the larger study or not but I find it difficult to properly respond without knowing what the researchers mean by the word "orthodox". I do know the general meaning so I am not asking for that. What I need to know is if orthodox here means Anglo or norm in which racial others fall outside of the perimeter.
What is orthodox Christianity? I do not think the African American church is tending towards orthodoxy (if orthodoxy means Anglo) and I would be sad to see it go that way. I am an African American from the South and church has been the place where many of us find belonging and importance when and where we otherwise could not. If you read the works of Zora Neale Hurston (such as Jonah's Gourdvine, Moses,Man of the Mountain, and her anthropological studies) you can see a more indepth look at African American religious practices.
I also agree with Pastor Chuck who made comments about oral tradition. However, I do not see the sayings of our parents and ancestors as irrelevant. We have to remember many or them then and still today could not and cannot read. So to me just the fact that they put the principles of the Bible in practical sayings and applications is not only great but is actually what many people are still looking for - the practicality of Christianity. How can Christianity benefit the daily lives of believers?
In terms of tending towards orthodoxy, I think we need to remember not to burn the bridges that brought us over.