Abstract
The Black Church has a long history of sponsoring programs in response to economic challenges in the African American community. Yet current double digit poverty and unemployment rates among African Americans suggest the need to examine their current efforts to combat economic problems. This study, informed by the “survival versus liberation” thesis, examines sponsorship of cash programs, employment programs, and credit unions for a national sample of 1,863 Black churches across seven denominations. Results show the tendency for Black churches to sponsor economic programs to meet more short-term needs rather than address systemic issues. Moreover, findings from logistic regression modeling suggest limited denominational effects, but a positive relationship between churches that espouse a more liberative stance and economic program sponsorship—particularly programs associated with more long-term benefits. Furthermore, Black churches that offer more educational and contemplative religious programs and that have the requisite human resources and organizational structure appear best positioned to offer these economic programs. Results provide important insights into the Black Church economic ethic.
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Notes
Throughout the document, the term “the Black Church” is used to represent the institution as a collective and “Black church” when specific congregations are referenced. However, the descriptive to identify race/ethnicity, “African American,” is used rather than “Black.”
The intent was to mimic Lincoln and Mamiya’s (1990) work by focusing on historically Black denominations. The ITC research team included Black churches that have historically been affiliated with predominately White denominations and that are typically included in research on the Black Church (i.e., UM and Presbyterians). African Americans have historically been involved in the United Methodist and Presbyterian traditions, but many congregations and conferences were racially segregated as late as the mid-1900s. The power and participation of African Americans in the two denominations have differed as compared to that of African Americans in predominately Black denominations, but their long time involvement in these two traditions warranted inclusion of such churches in the sample. The Black Presbyterian churches were selected from the Presbyterian Church (USA) which, since 1983, includes the following two largest American Presbyterian denominations—United Presbyterian Church in the USA and Presbyterian Church in the United States. (Survey screening questions were used to identify predominately Black churches from the lists of UM and Presbyterian churches.) Focus on these seven denominations excludes Black churches affiliated with other White denominations and Black, non-denominationally affiliated churches. The sampling process is representative for non-Baptist denominations and provides a conservative, systematic attempt to approximate Black Baptists in light of the associated challenges. The use of these seven Black denominations is common in research on the subject and provides a comparative benchmark.
They are the National Baptist Convention, USA, National Baptist Convention of America, and the Progressive National Baptist Convention. Tri-Media data were also used to augment the lists from the six other denominations; churches found on either source were included on the composite list for that perspective denomination and duplicate churches were identified and only included once.
Baptist churches that purchase Sunday school items at venues not listed with Tri-Media or those that do but that are not affiliated with any of the three conferences would not be included in the sampling frame. Thus the Baptist list is a lower bound of the number of Black Baptist churches nationwide.
Chaves et al. (1999) discuss the validity and reliability of relying on a single key informant to report church characteristics. Such persons are likely to over-estimate the extent to which their views correspond to their congregation’s views. They note, “an informant’s judgment about an organization’s goals or mission is likely to represent the informant’s interpretation of a complex reality rather than a more or less publicly available cultural fact about the congregation” (p. 464). In light of this dynamic, these data can be considered a best case scenario. However, vast majority of respondents are senior pastors and because research shows that African American pastors tend to have a greater degree of authority and influence over their congregants than their White counterparts, they are expected to have greater influence over the focus and activities of their churches (Billingsley 1999; McRoberts 1999; Wilmore 1994).
The response and cooperation rates by denomination are as follows; Baptist (0.22, 0.49), COGIC (0.19, 0.51), AME (0.25, 0.52), CME (0.40, 0.66), AMEZ (0.24, 0.55), UM (0.46, 0.69), and Black Presbyterian (0.37, 0.65). The overall sample rates were 0.24, and 0.54, respectively. Although the most current available lists were used, low response rates were due to situations such as disconnected telephones or relocation which counts against the response rate (referrals were used to locate many such congregations). In such situations, the cooperation rate can be used as a reasonable proxy. The figures represent the CASRO Standard calculation for the response rate and the cooperation rate reflects the percent of churches that participated once contact was made.
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Acknowledgments
This research is possible through the support of the ITC Faith Factor 2000 Project sponsored by The Lily Foundation and the Interdenominational Theological Center.
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Appendix: Survey Questions and Variable Operationalizations
Appendix: Survey Questions and Variable Operationalizations
Church Demographics (12 Variables)
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1.
Denomination (coded into seven 0–1 dummy variables, Baptist is the reference category): Q: What is your church denomination? Baptist, Church of God in Christ (COGIC), United Methodist (UM), Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME), African Methodist Episcopal (AME), African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ), Black Presbyterian.
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2.
Sunday Attendance (continuous, 0–6,000): Q: What is the total attendance for all services on a typical Sunday?
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3.
Financial Health (coded such that 1 = good, 0 = tight/difficulty): Q: How would you describe your congregation’s financial health? Good, tight, or serious difficulty
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4.
Paid Pastor (coded 0 = volunteer, 1 = paid): Q: Are you/is your pastor paid or a volunteer?
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5.
Paid Full-time Staff (0–63): Q: Thinking about the ministerial and program staff, how many does this congregation have (number of full-time paid staff)?
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6.
Urban (1 = yes) (Gallup determined the state and region for each church and the final category).
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7.
Time in Existence (0–200 years or more): Q: In what year was the congregation officially founded? The year was subtracted from 2010 to determine time in existence.
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8.
Religious Programs (0–4): Q: During the past 12 months, did your congregation participate in any of the following programs or activities in addition to your regular Sunday School? Bible study other than Sunday school, theological or doctrinal study, prayer or mediation groups, or spiritual retreats.
Variables that Describe a Liberation Strategy (2 Variables)
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Church Environment: Q: How well does each of the following statements describe your congregation? Use a scale from 1 to 5 where “5” describes your congregation very well and “1” means not at all well.
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9.
Working for social justice
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Sermon Focus: Q: How well does each of the following statements describe the sermon focus? Use a scale from 1 to 5 where “5” means always and “1” means never.
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10.
References to Black Liberation Theology or Womanist Theology
Variables that Describe a Survival Strategy (2 Variables)
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Q: How important are the following in the worship and teaching of your congregation? Use a scale from 1 to 5 where “5” means extremely important and “1” means little or no importance.
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11.
Traditions, historical creeds, and doctrines
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12.
The presence of the Holy Spirit
Source: ITC Faith Factor 2000 Project.
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Barnes, S.L. Black Church Sponsorship of Economic Programs: A Test of Survival and Liberation Strategies. Rev Relig Res 53, 23–40 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-011-0005-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-011-0005-6