BAMAPHIN 22
10-20-2010, 03:52 PM
The Rev. Mark Whitlock's church practices what he calls the 11th commandment: "Thou shalt not be boring."
Christ Our Redeemer African Methodist Episcopal Church in Orange County, California, also practices something many other black churches don't: integration.
"We're fully integrated in the workplace, schools, public restaurants everywhere, except the church," Whitlock told CNN. "It's still the most segregated place on Sunday in the United States. Our goal is to do what heaven has already done. Heaven is fully integrated."
But most churches aren't. Nine of 10 churches are segregated, according to an analysis by Christopher P. Scheitle and Kevin D. Dougherty published in the August addition of the journal Socialogical Inquiry. For the purposes of the paper, "segregated" meant 80 percent of a church's members were of one race.
"People choose churches where they feel comfortable. Maybe they get challenges there, but they're going for the comfort," says Dougherty, a sociology professor at Baylor University in Texas.
Titled "Race, Diversity, and Membership Duration in Religious Congregations," the analysis concluded that even when people join a church as minority members, they are less likely to stay as long as the majority. This, the paper's abstract says, "can create a constant pull toward homogeneity despite congregational efforts to diversify."
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Christ Our Redeemer African Methodist Episcopal Church in Orange County, California, also practices something many other black churches don't: integration.
"We're fully integrated in the workplace, schools, public restaurants everywhere, except the church," Whitlock told CNN. "It's still the most segregated place on Sunday in the United States. Our goal is to do what heaven has already done. Heaven is fully integrated."
But most churches aren't. Nine of 10 churches are segregated, according to an analysis by Christopher P. Scheitle and Kevin D. Dougherty published in the August addition of the journal Socialogical Inquiry. For the purposes of the paper, "segregated" meant 80 percent of a church's members were of one race.
"People choose churches where they feel comfortable. Maybe they get challenges there, but they're going for the comfort," says Dougherty, a sociology professor at Baylor University in Texas.
Titled "Race, Diversity, and Membership Duration in Religious Congregations," the analysis concluded that even when people join a church as minority members, they are less likely to stay as long as the majority. This, the paper's abstract says, "can create a constant pull toward homogeneity despite congregational efforts to diversify."
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.