African American Religious Participation

Abstract

This study examines the socio-demographic correlates of religious participation using data from the African American sub-sample of the National Survey of American Life (NSAL, 2001–2003). Twelve indicators of organizational religiosity, non-organizational religiosity, subjective religiosity, religious non-involvement and religious identity are examined. Both standard (e.g., age, gender) and novel (e.g., incarceration history, military service, welfare history, co-habitation, remarriage) demographic variables are utilized. Female gender, older age, being in a first marriage and Southern residency are consistently associated with higher religious involvement. Three significant differences between urban Southerners and rural Southerners indicate that rural Southerners were more likely to be official members of their church, read religious materials more frequently, and felt that religion was more important in their home during childhood than their urban Southern counterparts. Persons in cohabiting relationships and those who have been incarcerated report lower levels of organizational religious participation and feel less close to religious people (but are similar to their counterparts for non-organizational and subjective religiosity). Persons with previous military service read religious materials, pray, and request prayer from others less frequently (but are similar to their counterparts for organizational and subjective religiosity). Findings suggest that for stigmatized life circumstances (incarceration and cohabitation), social processes within religious institutions may inhibit organizational religious participation. This study contributes to the broader literature by focusing on subgroup differences in diverse forms of religious involvement within a large and nationally representative sample of African Americans and provides a more nuanced portrait of African American religious participation.

Characterizing Change in Religious and Spiritual Identity Among a National Sample of African American Adults

“…Indeed, the most frequently reported change involved the assumption of a spiritual identity among those with previous identification as “religious/not spiritual.” This change was seen most often in participants who were age 55 years or older. This is consistent with recent research among African Americans that found a positive association between older age and spiritual identity in terms perceived closeness in feelings and ideas to religious and church-attending individuals (Taylor, Chatters, & Brown, 2014). …”

“…The inverse relationship between educational level and proportion of change supports previous research reporting that African Americans with more years of formal education attributed more importance to spirituality than their less-educated counterparts (Taylor, Chatters, & Jackson, 2009). However, more recent work by Taylor and colleagues (2014) found a negative association between education and spiritual identity among African Americans.…”

“…In their work, Kiesling and colleagues (2006, p. 1269) describe spiritual identity as comprising “a persistent sense of self that addresses ultimate questions about the nature, purpose, and meaning of life.” As social phenomenon, religious identity and spiritual identity are shaped by reference groups, manifested in the context of group norms and cultural values (Hill, et al, 2000), and connected to other forms of social classification such as race, gender, and socio-economic status (Pesut and Reimer-Kirkham, 2010). In research with African Americans, religious identity has been conceptualized and measured as ideational and affective closeness to church-going people (Taylor, Chatters, & Brown, 2014), while spiritual identity has been defined in terms of how one views oneself “as a spiritual being or person of faith” (Washington, Moxley, Garriott, & Weinberger, 2009). In the present study, we conceptualized and assessed religious and spiritual identity by asking participants if they identified as religious, spiritual, both or neither.…”

Race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, and education are associated with gay and bisexual men’s religious and spiritual participation and beliefs: Results from the One Thousand Strong cohort.

“…People who had less income and education have been found to have higher levels of spiritual and religious beliefs and behaviors than people who had more money and education (Chatters, et al, 2008, 2009; Pew Research Center, 2015; Taylor, Chatters, & Brown, 2014; Taylor et al, 2009). Overall, several sociodemographic characteristics have been identified that either are or have the potential to be related to variations in religious engagement among LGB people.…”

“…church attendance, church membership) and nonorganizational religious (e.g. religious reading, private prayer) involvement (Taylor et al, 2014). Thus, we see that among both Black and White heterosexual Americans, religious affiliation has been an important factor associated with variations in spirituality and religion.…”