Race, Belonging, and Participation in Religious Congregations

Abstract

Significant effort has gone into understanding and promoting racial diversity in congregations. Still, uniting worshippers of different races remains a challenging endeavor. Even congregations that successfully attract worshippers of different races often have difficulty sustaining their multiracial composition. This study contributes to the discussion of race and religion by examining racial group differences in belonging and participation in congregations. Drawing on organizational ecology theory, we develop four hypotheses to test whether and how racial group size corresponds to congregational commitment. Results of multilevel modeling using 2001 U.S. Congregational Life Survey data reveal that those who are a part of a congregation's largest racial group possess a stronger sense of belonging and participate at a deeper level than congregants of other races. Moreover, differences in belonging and participation by racial group persist regardless of group size.

Congregational Diversity and Attendance in a Mainline Protestant Denomination

“…In short, increasing diversity corresponded with decreasing attendance. This is precarious for a congregation already in decline, but it aligns with past research revealing the challenges that can accompany racial diversification efforts in congregations (Christerson, Edwards, and Emerson ; Edwards ; Emerson ; Martinez and Dougherty ; Scheitle and Dougherty ). At the same time, homogeneity does not ensure growth.…”

“…The index considers not only the total number of racial groups present within the congregation but also the relative size of each group. It is a valuable marker of diversity in congregations, since the parity of racial group proportions is tied to congregational stability (Christerson, Edwards, and Emerson ; Martinez and Dougherty ; Scheitle and Dougherty ). The measure also allows us to estimate how the racial mix of members impacts congregational performance, which a dichotomous measure of multiracial/not multiracial would not capture.…”

“…The explanation is that groups with less representation possess less power in congregations and therefore less of a sense of belonging (Djupe and Gilbert ). Thus, members of underrepresented groups do not identify as strongly with the congregation (Martinez and Dougherty ), and they are at greater risk of leaving. Racial diversity in congregations also brings with it the challenge of potentially awkward or strained cross‐ethnic/interracial interactions.…”

Outreach and Exclusion: Jewish Denominational Marketing in the Early 20th Century

“…Scholars interested in social networks and diversity have pointed to various predictors of homogeneity, including lay recruitment through homophilous social ties (Popielarz and McPherson ), impacts of the clergy's ethnicity (Dougherty and Huyser ), and splintering in cases of organizational heterogeneity (Chaves and Sutton ). Numerous studies have identified ecological and internal factors that sustain rarer multiracial congregations (Ecklund ; Edwards ; Marti , ; Martinez and Dougherty ). Yet the findings of the present study propose that top‐down exclusion should remain a variable of consideration in research on religious group diversity.…”

The Integration of Racial and Ethnic Minorities into White Congregations

“…A substantial amount of recent literature has examined the racial dynamics in religious organizations, and these studies typically fit within one of three categories: (1) they focus on numeric representation (Martinez and Dougherty ; Scheitle and Dougherty ), (2) observe the distinction between whites and non‐whites (Emerson ), or (3) perform case studies between two races (Christerson and Emerson ; Edwards ). I expand on this body of work by incorporating contemporary racial stratification literature and comparing the effects at attending a predominantly white congregation for the three largest American minority groups: African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans.…”