Why do 95% of African American shun the Roman Catholic religion??

[brazenarticle]

I guess it’s like about 90% shun the Republican party. I guess it’s tradition and their Southern Baptist roots? We’ve had some wonderful African Americans in our Parish and one that was local who became a Priest and was ordained in our Church. I think in 1st. grade, 83 in our class and one girl was black, late 1950’s. She for one reason or another did not graduate with our 52 in 8th. She was gone by 3rd. grade and they did not move away. Here the Hispanics, many illegals are in our Church and it has been in general blacks and hispanics are like oil and water. To tame the crips and bloods and latin kings and the skinheads are the challenges of any church today. We continue to reach out as best we can.

 

[4Squarebaby]

I wouldn’t say we “shun” the Catholic Church. Most are just raised in another tradition. I guess the 95% figure came from the PEW study which shows that Black’s are more serious about faith in God then other ethnic groups yet the social problems among African Americans are also greater. Most Black folks roots are in the South besides Maryland and Louisiana Catholics in the southern US were at a great minority for most of our history.

kansascity.com/255/story/1044959.html

Among the Pew findings:

•Eighty-seven percent of African-Americans say they belong to a particular religious group, compared to 83 percent among the total population.

•Seventy-nine percent say religion is “very important” in their lives, compared to 56 percent of the total population.

•Fifty-three percent say they attend religious services at least once a week, compared to 39 percent of the total population.

•Seventy-six percent say they pray at least on a daily basis, compared to 58 percent of the total population.

•Eighty-eight percent say they are absolutely certain that God exists, compared to 71 percent of the total population.

The religious portrait of African-Americans reveals that they are overwhelmingly Protestant (78 percent), with** 59 percent belonging to historically black churches.**

Only 12 percent of African-Americans are not affiliated with any particular religion; 5 percent are Catholic; 1 percent are Jehovah’s Witnesses; 1 percent are Muslim; 1 percent are atheist or agnostic; and small fractions are in other faiths.

 

[Hesychios]

African Americans aren’t shunning the Roman Catholic church, they are mostly just not looking.

You have to go after them. But don’t expect it to be easy, they will ask tough questions, be ready.

 

[brazenarticle]

Interesting statistic as to Jehova’s. In my area, as to the USA, if you have a carload of 4 JH"s on the make, doing that cold calling, one of those four are Black on average, I suppose it varies as to a given area of the USA, but 1%? Not even close in my area. I’d say easy 15% to 20% of those JW are black in my area I suppose the 1% is as to 1 of 100 blacks in the USA? are JW’s…, but of the small sect of JW’s, at least in my area, on average I’d say 15% to 20% are black. I have not done a study as to church memberships, just those that come by and come to the door and leave the Watchtower. Very brave and determined folks. Those dogs in the yard on shock collars would tend to keep me away the door or porch. But, in many states, legal yet in West Virginia the poisonous snake (serpent) handlers are out and about. They are hardy people that are so happy and proud and have more luck than brains to survive what they do.

 

[4Squarebaby]

Interesting statistic as to Jehova’s. In my area, as to the USA, if you have a carload of 4 JH"s on the make, doing that cold calling, one of those four are Black on average, I suppose it varies as to a given area of the USA, but 1%? Not even close in my area. I’d say easy 15% to 20% of those JW are black in my area.

I think they mean 1% of African Americans are Jehovah Witnesses.

 

[brazenarticle]

Yes, right you are, and I caught myself in between the posts as you’ll note. But, of JH’s, what % are black? Is 15% or 20% too conservative?

 

[4Squarebaby]

Yes, right you are, and I caught myself in between the posts as you’ll note. But, of JH’s, what % are black? Is 15% or 20% too conservative?

Wiki says 37%

 

[ralphinal]

Alabama, my home state, has a higher percentage of AA citizens than the Country as a whole. We have less Catholics then African Americans in Alabama. A good number of them are JWs. My wife teaches in a almost 100% AA school, and she has never had more than 3 or 4 JWs in a class of 20 or so.

 

[brazenarticle]

Wow, 37% I have to check it via WIKI as to the details. I would guess they were recruited from a door to door cold call and just joined up and impressed by the reaching out? I’m always intrigued as to how certain groups grow and stay afloat. They work very hard at recruiting and reaching out to the shut in folks, elderly, and rural. I was always impressed by the TV Evangelists and the $$ they raked in as in Baker and a couple of other ones from down south who were found out to be as fake as a Bush budget suplus and who can forget the kool aid party of Rev, Jones? The trip to the comet by the other coo-coo and the Wako cult. Sad that the Lord oversaw these innocent people killing themselves or maybe just sending in good money after bad to buy their way into heaven??? …makes ya wonder about religion sometimes and those in charge that bilk those who can least afford it.
Those that got rooked by Madoff, I have no sympathy but I do as to those that join or drive these TV Evangelist fund drives and memberships. I just want to spit at the TV sometimes.

 

[SedesDomi]

I guess it’s like about 90% shun the Republican party. I guess it’s tradition and their Southern Baptist roots? We’ve had some wonderful African Americans in our Parish and one that was local who became a Priest and was ordained in our Church. I think in 1st. grade, 83 in our class and one girl was black, late 1950’s. She for one reason or another did not graduate with our 52 in 8th. She was gone by 3rd. grade and they did not move away. Here the Hispanics, many illegals are in our Church and it has been in general blacks and hispanics are like oil and water. To tame the crips and bloods and latin kings and the skinheads are the challenges of any church today. We continue to reach out as best we can.

Reasons why there are not a whole lot of U.S. Blacks in the Catholic Church:

1. Catholics did not evangelize Black slaves in the 1700s and 1800s (outside of Louisiana and Maryland); whereas Methodists and Baptists were gung-ho.
2. Becoming a Catholic priest required significant education, thus historically excluding many Blacks from a real chance at becoming a priest
3. Black Methodists and Baptists could set up their own separate denominations (like A.M.E.C. and the National Baptist Convention), denominations free from outside (“white”) control
4. Blacks could set up their own churches in Baptist, Holiness, and Pentecostal traditions, churches free from outside (“white”) control.
5. And, last but not least: The preaching in many Catholic parishes leaves something to be desired.

 

[reteeks21]

My guess, and it’s only a guess, is that the RCC takes serious moral stances, but for the most part they don’t get down into the muck of politics. They (the leadership) aren’t repubs or dems. They worry about Christ and what He does more than they do politics. I.e., they don’t use the pulpit as a means of pushing a social-gospel agenda.

I think that when some Catholic leaders like Plegler in Chicago deal with politics more than Christ they start to gain black followers. His church is all about race and social causes. Now, working to further the Gospel in society IS the point, but he takes it so far that is becomes about victimhood when it comes to race.

The funny thing is that the serious social stances that the RCC takes mirror, pretty much at least, the conservative values that most tight knit black families hold. Kind of odd, don’t ya think?

 

[Thunderbird]

My guess, and it’s only a guess, is that the RCC takes serious moral stances, but for the most part they don’t get down into the muck of politics. They (the leadership) aren’t repubs or dems. They worry about Christ and what He does more than they do politics. I.e., they don’t use the pulpit as a means of pushing a social-gospel agenda.

I think that when some Catholic leaders like Plegler in Chicago deal with politics more than Christ they start to gain black followers. His church is all about race and social causes. Now, working to further the Gospel in society IS the point, but he takes it so far that is becomes about victimhood when it comes to race.

The funny thing is that the serious social stances that the RCC takes mirror, pretty much at least, the conservative values that most tight knit black families hold. Kind of odd, don’t ya think?

I’m sorry, but what are you implying in this post? It sounds as though you are saying that Af-Americans are more interested in politics than God…in which case I would have to disagree… however, before I give a full reply to it, I would like to be sure that I am reading correctly.

As for why there aren’t a lot of Af-American Catholics, it seems to me that it’s a combination of tradition and generally how services are conducted. To the tradition aspect, ask yourself why a majority of Latinos, Italians or Filipinos ‘shun’ the protestant faiths. As much as it would please us to say that they understand the fullness of Catholic Faith, the truth is that most of them are Catholic because they were raised that way…it’s their culture. The same is said for a lot of Af-Americans.

A better question would be, ‘why aren’t conversion rates high for Af-Americans’? For that, I think it’s because there are a number of stigmas attached with becoming Catholic. One, because rumour has it that Catholic services are quiet, ‘boring’ things, lacking in any kind of flavor. The heart of a lot of Black Religious belief is that you give glory to God in any way that you can… sing, shout, etc. Without these elements, a lot of Black Protestants tend to equate quiet with a spiritually dead church. Combine that with deeply-ingrained protestant indoctrination (‘Catholics aren’t Christian,’ ‘They worship Statues,’ and other Jack Chick-inspired thoughts!)…

Another stigma is the belief that Catholicism is a ‘white man’s’ religion…and to that I’ll admit that I thought it as well (we’ve seen some threads started here on CAF that speak to that from other users). And, well, it’s largely true in the United States. Historically it makes sense, as a lot of white people that settled in the US from Europe were protestants AND had slaves… and since most slaves ended up with the religion of their ‘masters…’ I suspect that’s why there are a higher than average number of black Catholics in New Orleans, Louisiana, Baltimore, etc.

Then there’s that whole Confession thing…

There was another reason I’ve thought of, but I’m not sure of how to phrase it yet so I’ll set it aside for now.

 

[reteeks21]

I’m sorry, but what are you implying in this post? It sounds as though you are saying that Af-Americans are more interested in politics than God…in which case I would have to disagree… however, before I give a full reply to it, I would like to be sure that I am reading correctly.

As for why there aren’t a lot of Af-American Catholics, it seems to me that it’s a combination of tradition and generally how services are conducted. To the tradition aspect, ask yourself why a majority of Latinos, Italians or Filipinos ‘shun’ the protestant faiths. As much as it would please us to say that they understand the fullness of Catholic Faith, the truth is that most of them are Catholic because they were raised that way…it’s their culture. The same is said for a lot of Af-Americans.

A better question would be, ‘why aren’t conversion rates high for Af-Americans’? For that, I think it’s because there are a number of stigmas attached with becoming Catholic. One, because rumour has it that Catholic services are quiet, ‘boring’ things, lacking in any kind of flavor. The heart of a lot of Black Religious belief is that you give glory to God in any way that you can… sing, shout, etc. Without these elements, a lot of Black Protestants tend to equate quiet with a spiritually dead church. Combine that with deeply-ingrained protestant indoctrination (‘Catholics aren’t Christian,’ ‘They worship Statues,’ and other Jack Chick-inspired thoughts!)…

Another stigma is the belief that Catholicism is a ‘white man’s’ religion…and to that I’ll admit that I thought it as well (we’ve seen some threads started here on CAF that speak to that from other users). And, well, it’s largely true in the United States. Historically it makes sense, as a lot of white people that settled in the US from Europe were protestants AND had slaves… and since most slaves ended up with the religion of their ‘masters…’ I suspect that’s why there are a higher than average number of black Catholics in New Orleans, Louisiana, Baltimore, etc.

Then there’s that whole Confession thing…

There was another reason I’ve thought of, but I’m not sure of how to phrase it yet so I’ll set it aside for now.

Thanks for calling me on this so I could explain further. SOME are more interested in a social gospel, or liberation theology. I think this past year’s election cycle proved that with all that we saw in the news. The same goes for white people, and I know a few of them myself! Another factor to consider is that most blacks were in the south as soon as they got here (under HORRIBLE circumstances!), and Catholicism has never been big here (sad but true). I know several black people who are Catholic, and in part it is due to the Church’s social views. My point was that too many ministers take advantage of race and they use that to further their liberation theology, and sadly too many people fall for it. None of what I said was meant as a slam. If a question relating to, say, Presbyterians had been asked I would have had a response for that one, too. It had nothing to do with race on my end.

Curios. What was the final thing you wanted to say but didn’t?

 

[Le_Cracquere]

I’m sorry, but what are you implying in this post? It sounds as though you are saying that Af-Americans are more interested in politics than God…in which case I would have to disagree… however, before I give a full reply to it, I would like to be sure that I am reading correctly.

I’m fairly sure that the poster wasn’t implying that. He might have been pointing out the simple fact that historically black churches often play a role in their communities that is not solely religious–sad to say, not always primarily or even secondarily religious. Nevertheless, I’m guessing that religiously serious blacks and religiously serious whites account for a roughly equal proportion of their respective populations.

Just about all the hypotheses in this thread about the reasons for low black affiliation with the CC have something to them; combine them, and they abundantly answer the OP’s question.

 

[4Squarebaby]

As for why there aren’t a lot of Af-American Catholics, it seems to me that it’s a combination of tradition and generally how services are conducted. To the tradition aspect, ask yourself why a majority of Latinos, Italians or Filipinos ‘shun’ the protestant faiths. As much as it would please us to say that they understand the fullness of Catholic Faith, the truth is that most of them are Catholic because they were raised that way…it’s their culture. The same is said for a lot of Af-Americans.

A better question would be, ‘why aren’t conversion rates high for Af-Americans’? For that, I think it’s because there are a number of stigmas attached with becoming Catholic. One, because rumour has it that Catholic services are quiet, ‘boring’ things, lacking in any kind of flavor. The heart of a lot of Black Religious belief is that you give glory to God in any way that you can… sing, shout, etc. Without these elements, a lot of Black Protestants tend to equate quiet with a spiritually dead church. Combine that with deeply-ingrained protestant indoctrination (‘Catholics aren’t Christian,’ ‘They worship Statues,’ and other Jack Chick-inspired thoughts!)…

I asked if there is a time the Catholic Church takes to shout praises to the Lord since it is not done during Mass the final awnser was in effect what’s the big deal about that, you are only doing it to look good to others anyway.

Another stigma is the belief that Catholicism is a ‘white man’s’ religion…and to that I’ll admit that I thought it as well (we’ve seen some threads started here on CAF that speak to that from other users). And, well, it’s largely true in the United States. Historically it makes sense, as a lot of white people that settled in the US from Europe were protestants AND had slaves… and since most slaves ended up with the religion of their ‘masters…’ I suspect that’s why there are a higher than average number of black Catholics in New Orleans, Louisiana, Baltimore, etc.

I think I just said the same in the Assemblies of God thread. Until black folk are in recognizable leadership don’t expect to make many inroads into Black American communities as opposed to Africans and African immigrants. A local Priest won’t do he will be trumped by the Bishop Blake’s, the Presiding Bishop of the COGICs. When I mentioned a black Pope it was said it is because the history isn’t known there have been popes from North Africa. Well pointing to an Arab North African as Black to a Black American is little different then pointing to Dave Matthews and other white South Africans and calling them African Americans. The community takes it as a slap in the face.

Then there’s that whole Confession thing…

I’m curious how does the confessional fit in?

 

[4Squarebaby]

I’m fairly sure that the poster wasn’t implying that. He might have been pointing out the simple fact that historically black churches often play a role in their communities that is not solely religious–sad to say, not always primarily or even secondarily religious. Nevertheless, I’m guessing that religiously serious blacks and religiously serious whites account for a roughly equal proportion of their respective populations.

Just about all the hypotheses in this thread about the reasons for low black affiliation with the CC have something to them; combine them, and they abundantly answer the OP’s question.

All the studies I’ve seen seem to indicate that on all measures of religious seriousness Blacks out number the rate of all other ethnic groups in America. Which is odd since in all categories of social disfunctions we also outnumber the rate of all other ethnic groups in the nation.

 

[jastor]

I guess it’s like about 90% shun the Republican party. I guess it’s tradition and their Southern Baptist roots? We’ve had some wonderful African Americans in our Parish and one that was local who became a Priest and was ordained in our Church. I think in 1st. grade, 83 in our class and one girl was black, late 1950’s. She for one reason or another did not graduate with our 52 in 8th. She was gone by 3rd. grade and they did not move away. Here the Hispanics, many illegals are in our Church and it has been in general blacks and hispanics are like oil and water. To tame the crips and bloods and latin kings and the skinheads are the challenges of any church today. We continue to reach out as best we can.

The slave masters forced the slaves to change their religion from what ever it was in the old world, and from there it is just tradition. Most people are what they are because of tradition and not because they understand or care…tradition.

 

[CHESTERTONRULES]

I guess it’s like about 90% shun the Republican party. I guess it’s tradition and their Southern Baptist roots? We’ve had some wonderful African Americans in our Parish and one that was local who became a Priest and was ordained in our Church. I think in 1st. grade, 83 in our class and one girl was black, late 1950’s. She for one reason or another did not graduate with our 52 in 8th. She was gone by 3rd. grade and they did not move away. Here the Hispanics, many illegals are in our Church and it has been in general blacks and hispanics are like oil and water. To tame the crips and bloods and latin kings and the skinheads are the challenges of any church today. We continue to reach out as best we can.

It is changing rapidly due to immigration.

Catholicism has over 130 million adherents in Africa and it is growing by about 5 million per year.

Our parish in Houston had a huge Nigerian membership.

 

[4Squarebaby]

It is changing rapidly due to immigration.

Catholicism has over 130 million adherents in Africa and it is growing by about 5 million per year.

Our parish in Houston had a huge Nigerian membership.

I’m not sure if you can call African immigration huge. Especially when looked at next to Chinese and especially Latino immigration.

We also have a large Nigerian contingent in my home church. We are there with you doing the work but together are still outnumbered by the Muslims. Presently our Nigerian partners are spearheading our missionary efforts in the Central African Republic.