Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Political Behavior of American Religious Congregations

Brown, R. Khari

doi:10.1080/02732170802584427

Cited by 13 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…History suggests that if there is too much discussion about poverty and social inequality within the religious spaces that whites predominate, religious leaders may risk losing current and potentially future members who disagree with their theological and political worldview. Indeed, only 10 percent of predominantly white congregations have a heavy social justice mission orientation and they are vastly underrepresented among faith‐based community organizing firms politically engaged in improving social‐economic opportunities for disadvantaged groups (Brown ). This reality may speak to the threshold for social justice among many white American worship‐goers.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Racial/ethnic minorities are also more supportive than whites of their clergy talking about the growing gap between the rich and the poor (PRRI ). Indeed, past research tells us that black and Hispanic worship‐goers are also more likely than whites to be led by clergy who talk about social justice and are involved in local and regional community organizing efforts (Brown ; Wood and Warren ). Moreover, it is reasonable to expect that blacks and Hispanics are more likely than whites to attend religious congregations where they hear sermons about poverty and other economic‐related issues.…”

Section: Why Does Race Matter?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Race, Religion, and Anti‐Poverty Policy Attitudes

Brown

Phoenix

et al. 2016

Scientific Study of Religion

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Using the 2008 National Politics Study, the present study indicates that while African Americans are more likely than whites to hear sermons about poverty and other political issues, hearing such sermons more consistently associates with support for anti‐poverty government programs among non‐Hispanic whites than among both African Americans and Hispanics. The racially/ethnically marginalized status of blacks and Hispanics may contribute to these groups being more receptive than whites to religious messages emphasizing social inequality. The contrasting racial experiences of dominance and marginalization may also help explain why hearing politicized sermons is more meaningful to the progressive social welfare attitudes of whites than to African Americans and Hispanics. This expectation is rooted in the heightened variability of perspectives among whites and their religious organizations regarding the government's role in aiding the economically disadvantaged. Conversely, the vast majority of blacks and Hispanics support the government helping individuals who fallen upon hard times. The greater variability in opinion among whites may also allow for greater differences in opinion to emerge between whites who attend relative to those outside of religious congregations led by clergy emphasizing spiritual and political solidarity with the poor than is the case for African Americans and Hispanics.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Why Does Race Matter?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Race, Religion, and Anti‐Poverty Policy Attitudes

Brown

Phoenix

et al. 2016

Scientific Study of Religion

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Although participation in political activities occurs among all major types of congregations, most of these studies indicate that participation rates are highest among Catholic, predominantly black, and politically liberal congregations. Other studies that focus on specific types of political activities reveal additional variations in participation rates across the congregational subpopulations [32][33][34][35][36][37][38].…”

Section: The Contemporary State Of Congregation-based Service Provisimentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in Addressing Social Needs: A Longitudinal Study of Congregation-Based Service Provision and Political Participation

Fulton

2016

Religions

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When congregations seek to address social needs, they often pursue this goal through acts of service and political engagement. Over the past three decades, a tremendous amount of research has been dedicated to analyzing congregation-based service provision and political participation. However, little is known about how congregations' involvement in these arenas has changed during this period. To help fill this gap, this study analyzes three waves of data from a national survey of congregations to assess how congregations' participation patterns in service-related and political activities have been changing since the 1990s. It also examines trends among subpopulations of congregations grouped by their religious tradition, ethnoracial composition, and ideological orientation. Overall, this study finds that among most types of congregations, the percentage participating in service-related activities is substantial and increasing, while the percentage participating in political activities is less substantial and decreasing. This decline in political participation has implications for the role congregations play in addressing social needs. Relieving immediate needs through service provision without also pursuing long-term solutions through political participation can limit congregations' ability to comprehensively address social needs. Among the few types of congregations that have high and/or increasing participation rates in both service-related and political activities are Catholic, predominantly Hispanic, and politically liberal congregations.

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“…Traditionally, Black churches have been a central institution in the civic and spiritual life of African American communities, which may account for Blacks' greater support (relative to the general population) for political and social activism of religious leaders on social issues (Pew, 2012). In addition, Black churches are overrepresented in faith-based community organizing efforts to pressure legislators to support policies to improve the quality of life within poor and black communities (Brown, 2009;Warren & Wood, 2002).…”

Section: Religious Participation Among African American and Non-hispamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whether as recognized independent congregations or secret organizations, these emerging religious institutions and social welfare societies (i.e., mutual aid and benevolent societies) allowed blacks to develop distinctive styles of worship and to cultivate a tradition of Black Christian belief that was particularly suited and responsive to their life circumstances-both spiritually and materially (Frazier, 1974;Lincoln & Mamiya, 1990). Further, these elements coalesced into a Black religious ethos which emphasized notions of communal responsibility and was manifested in church-sponsored civic, educational, economic and political activity (Barnes, 2009;Brown, 2009;Dillard, 2007;Taylor, Thornton & Chatters, 1987).…”

Section: African American Religious Participationmentioning

confidence: 99%

African American Religious Participation

2004

Religion in the Lives of African Americans: Social, Psychological, and Health Perspectives

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Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Political Behavior of American Religious Congregations

Cited by 13 publications

References 16 publications

Race, Religion, and Anti‐Poverty Policy Attitudes

Race, Religion, and Anti‐Poverty Policy Attitudes

Trends in Addressing Social Needs: A Longitudinal Study of Congregation-Based Service Provision and Political Participation

African American Religious Participation

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