(RNS) U.S. congregations have changed significantly in the last eight years, according to a new study, with them becoming more ethnically diverse, more technologically savvy and more informal in worship.
Predominantly white congregations reported greater racial and ethnic diversity between the first and second surveys of U.S. houses of worship by the National Congregations Study.
When the study was first conducted in 1998, 20 percent of churchgoers reported attending a church that was all white and non-Hispanic. In the second round, conducted in 2006-07, that figure had dipped to 14 percent.
The study also found that the percentage of congregations with no Asian members decreased in the same period from 59 percent to 50 percent, and the percentage of congregations with no Latino members dropped from 43 percent to 36 percent.
“We’re far from a color-blind society, in religion or anything else, but there is some movement in churches as well as elsewhere,” said Mark Chaves, professor of sociology, religion and divinity at Duke University and lead researcher on the project.
While researchers found that some congregations that were previously all-white now have a couple of minority families as members, Chaves said mostly black churches did not report a comparable change.
“If you look at predominantly black churches, we don’t find more whites or Latinos or Asians in them,” he said.
Other findings include:
– The number of churches with Web sites increased from 17 percent in 1998 to 44 percent in 2006-07, and use of e-mail rose from 21 percent to 59 percent.
– Drum use rose from 20 percent to 34 percent, while people raising their hands in praise during worship services increased from 45 percent to 57 percent.
– The average age of the senior clergyperson in a church rose from
48 to 53. In 1998, 25 percent of the people in the average congregation were at least 60 years old; in 2006-07, 30 percent were.
The study was based on reports from leaders of 1,506 congregations and did not reflect the observations of independent survey takers.
“If there’s any overreporting or underreporting, because (of) its leaders’ reports, it ought to be the same in both times,” Chavez said.
By Adelle M. Banks
Copyright 2008 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written permission.
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posted December 22, 2008 at 6:58 pm
There’s some good news there.
posted December 22, 2008 at 7:35 pm
“The average age of the senior clergyperson in a church rose from
48 to 53.”
At last, I am above average! I’ll take it any way I can get it.
posted December 23, 2008 at 5:16 am
I think after hearing Reverend Wright’s hate speech, it would make me more hesitant to visit any predominantly black church.
posted December 23, 2008 at 9:51 am
I think after hearing Rick Warren, I’m more relunctant to visit any White church, and I’m Caucasion.
posted December 23, 2008 at 11:58 am
Origen of Alexandria, that’s funny. Actually you can visit the UCC, some Episcopal, Some Disciple of Christ Churches, Unity, Unitarian Universalist, Progressive Christian Churches, but they won’t all be white, mixed is the usual.
posted December 23, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Don’t worry, Confessoressa, not all black churches are like that.
posted December 23, 2008 at 1:41 pm
A man I often read and respect, Juan Cole who writes “Informed Comment”, possibly the best source of news on the middle east, has this to say about Warren:
http://www.juancole.com/2008/12/rick-warren-i-love-muslims-i-happen-to.html
For what it’s worth.
posted December 23, 2008 at 3:02 pm
It is one of the facts of evolution that nature demonstarates a preference for diversity. That which cannot diversify will die – perhaps slowly and not in one gneneration, but it will die from its exlusivicity (is this a word?). So churches, like any social organism, that are lively and dynamic are going to be more diverse.
Our congregation is slightly diverse, but we all embrace and encourage and support those who represnt the various minorities. It is usually fun, ocassionally frustrating, but always rewarding. I am hoping that in the years to come we will continue to thrive and embrace greater diversity until we reach that point that no one characterisitc describes us, other than the United (and often Untied) Church of Christ.
posted December 23, 2008 at 4:14 pm
“I think after hearing Reverend Wright’s hate speech, it would make me more hesitant to visit any predominantly black church.”
I don’t hang out in churches, white, black or striped but there was good reason for Wright to say what he did; he and certainly his parents lived through some awful KKK activities in the upper midwest (if that’s where the Wrights were). What didn’t get represented on TV and he perhaps doesn’t talk about, is that times have changed since those bad days. We sure aren’t perfect but we’re a lot better and it seems to me telling the truth requires addressing that, too.
posted December 23, 2008 at 5:22 pm
I think Rev. Wright said his sermon was taken out of context. We should be used to this in the U.S. by now.