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Racial Diversity in U.S. Congregations, 1998–2019

Publication ,  Journal Article
Dougherty, KD; Chaves, M; Emerson, MO
Published in: Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
December 1, 2020

Racially diverse congregations have become an important part of the American religious landscape. We use data from the National Congregations Study (NCS), notably including data from the fourth wave, collected in 2018–2019, to examine 20 years of racial diversity in congregations. We find that racial diversity within congregations has increased substantially between 1998 and 2019. There are more congregations in which no one racial or ethnic group comprises more than 80 percent of the people, congregations’ average diversity level has increased, and the percentage of all-white congregations has declined. Nearly a quarter of evangelical churches now have no one ethnic group constituting more than 80 percent of the people, a rate comparable to what we observe among Catholic churches. Moreover, congregations that meet this 80-percent threshold are more likely to be led by black clergy in 2019 than they were in 1998. We end with a note of caution about concluding that diverse congregations necessarily promote racial justice.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

DOI

EISSN

1468-5906

ISSN

0021-8294

Publication Date

December 1, 2020

Volume

59

Issue

4

Start / End Page

651 / 662

Related Subject Headings

  • Religions & Theology
  • 5004 Religious studies
  • 4410 Sociology
  • 2204 Religion and Religious Studies
  • 1608 Sociology
 

Citation

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Dougherty, K. D., Chaves, M., & Emerson, M. O. (2020). Racial Diversity in U.S. Congregations, 1998–2019. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 59(4), 651–662. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12681
Dougherty, K. D., M. Chaves, and M. O. Emerson. “Racial Diversity in U.S. Congregations, 1998–2019.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 59, no. 4 (December 1, 2020): 651–62. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12681.
Dougherty KD, Chaves M, Emerson MO. Racial Diversity in U.S. Congregations, 1998–2019. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 2020 Dec 1;59(4):651–62.
Dougherty, K. D., et al. “Racial Diversity in U.S. Congregations, 1998–2019.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, vol. 59, no. 4, Dec. 2020, pp. 651–62. Scopus, doi:10.1111/jssr.12681.
Dougherty KD, Chaves M, Emerson MO. Racial Diversity in U.S. Congregations, 1998–2019. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 2020 Dec 1;59(4):651–662.
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion

DOI

EISSN

1468-5906

ISSN

0021-8294

Publication Date

December 1, 2020

Volume

59

Issue

4

Start / End Page

651 / 662

Related Subject Headings

  • Religions & Theology
  • 5004 Religious studies
  • 4410 Sociology
  • 2204 Religion and Religious Studies
  • 1608 Sociology