Opposition to Racism is a Key Part of the Faith for Black Americans of All Religions

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Worshipers attend a service at First Baptist Church North Tulsa on May 30, 2021, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. (Brandon Bell / Getty Images)

The intersection of race and religion has played an important role in the civic life of black Americans for over two centuries. Whether hosting pre-war abolitionist gatherings or serving as hubs for social movements in the mid-twentieth century, black places of worship have often been the foundation from which public battles for freedom and racial equality were carried out. At the same time, race plays a fundamental and complex role in the religious and personal lives of black adults, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center.

This analysis of the role played by race and religion for black Americans is based on a survey conducted from November 19, 2019 to June 3, 2020 among 8,660 black adults. The study is the Pew Research Center’s most comprehensive and in-depth attempt to explore religion among black Americans. Survey respondents were recruited from four nationally representative sources: the Pew Research Center US Trends Panel (conducted online), NORC’s AmeriSpeak panel (conducted online or by phone) , the Ipsos KnowledgePanel (conducted online) and a national cross-sectional survey by the Pew Research Center (conducted online and by mail).

Here are the questions used for this report, along with the answers and its methodology.

Opposition to racism is an integral part of the religious identity of many black adults. Three-quarters of black Americans say opposing racism is essential to their faith or sense of morality, a view that spans all religious traditions. Those who say being Black is a very important part of their personal identity (78%) are more likely than those for whom being Black is less important (70%) to view opposition to racism in this way.

The majority of black Protestants – regardless of the race of their congregations – as well as black Catholics and other Christians, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Orthodox Christians and other groups, say opposing racism is essential to what it means to be a Christian for them. Likewise, the majority of black non-Christians – including Muslims, followers of traditional African or Afro-Caribbean religions, and other groups – say opposing racism is essential to what their faith means to them ( 82%). And 71% of religiously unaffiliated black adults say opposing racism is essential to their sense of morality.

While race plays an important role in what the faith of black Americans means to them, it is also a key part of their personal identity. Two-thirds of black adults say being black is a very important part of how they think about themselves. Black Protestants (70%) are slightly more likely than Catholics (60%) and people with no religious affiliation (62%) to say that being black is a very important part of their personal identity. Among Protestants, three-quarters of those who attend black churches (76%) say being black is very important to how they perceive themselves, as do 65% of those who attend multiracial churches and 56% of those who attend churches where most are white or of another race.

While race is important to the personal identity and faith of many black Americans, large numbers of black Americans are open to increased diversity in historically black congregations. About six in ten black Americans say historically black congregations should try to ‘become more racially and ethnically diverse’, while a third say historically black congregations should try to ‘preserve their traditional racial character’ .

Black adults who say being black is a very important part of how they see themselves (37%) are more likely than those for whom being black is less important (26%) to say that black congregations should preserve their traditional racial character. Black Protestants and Catholics hold similar views on whether black congregations should diversify. Black Protestants who attend churches where whites or another racial or ethnic group constitute the majority are only slightly more likely than those who attend black churches to say that black congregations should diversify (69% vs. 62%, respectively ).

When asked what sorts of things they would prioritize if they were to find themselves looking for a new congregation, few black adults would prioritize race. Only 14% of black Americans say it would be “very important” for them to find a place of worship with black religious leaders, and a similar share (13%) say it would be “very important” to find a congregation. where most of the participants are black. While about one in five say each of these factors is “somewhat important”, most black adults say these factors are “not too important” or “not at all important.” In contrast, eight in ten black Americans say it would be very important for places of worship to have welcoming congregations.

A small proportion of black adults who consider being black a very important part of their identity say that factors like having a black congregation would be very important in their search for a new place of worship. Even so, they are more likely than those for whom being black is less important to say than congregations that have black leadership (18% vs. 6%, respectively) and black members (16% vs. 5%) would be very important in a new church.

Black Protestants are a little more likely than Black Catholics to say that if they were looking for a new congregation, it would be very important to them that most of the attendees and religious leaders were Blaunaffck. Yet relatively low proportions of Protestants attending different types of congregations would prioritize the race of participants and religious leaders if they were to seek a new church.

Note: Here are the questions used for this report, along with the answers and its methodology.

Kiana Cox is a race and ethnicity research associate at the Pew Research Center.

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