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*This essay was originally written for a course on the sociology of religion.
Thesis
For years analysts and theologists have written about progressive generational declines in US-based religious metrics. Compared to previous generations, Millennials and Gen Zs are much more likely to reject the religious institutions their parents and grandparents have embraced. But how do these broader trends compare when one looks at Black Protestant churches? Due to the lasting legacy of slavery there are many important cultural differences between White Protestant and Black Protestant churches and, due to these differences, research suggests that Black Churches are not facing the same decline amongst young people as their White counterparts. But what motivates this? In this essay I seek to explore why, compared to older generations, Black Protestant Millennials and Gen Z’s, are leaving the Historically Black Protestant churches yet at a rate much lower than those leaving White Protestant churches. I argue that the reasons for young Black Protestants leaving the church include an increasingly negative perception of the institution, a discrepancy between individuals’ social views and the stance of the church, more public alignment between Christian nationalists and the Religious Right, and young people simply moving away for college. In spite of this, young Black people continue to remain in the church because of its historical relevance in the community and continued role as a “Black space.”
Introduction
America is and has historically been a largely religious, protestant-Christian, country. Yet, in recent years, the number of those unaffiliated with a religion has surged. According to research by cultural sociologist Penny Edgell, in comparison to the 5% of Americans who claimed to be atheists, agnostic or “nothing in particular” on the 1972 General Social Survey, 2010 saw those numbers almost triple to just under 20% of the population (Edgell 611). Even more striking, is when looking at an age breakdown, the number rises to 32% for those under 30. The 2007 Pew Religious Landscape Survey found that only 39% of respondents 18-29 attended a religious service once a week, in comparison to 41% of those over 30, 36% of those 30-49, 40% of those 50-64 and 53% of those over 65 (Pew Research Center). The 2010 GSS put this number at only 18% of Millenials. This generation ended up underperforming across every religious metric including prayer, the importance of religion, and belief in God. Findings like these have raised alarm bells for some and left many more asking “Why?” What about young people makes them more predispositioned to reject religious institutions than their parents, in the present day?
However, young people do not feel uniformly about a myriad of issues. Looking at different social-political issues there is a large discrepancy between Black and White Millennials. 71% of White millennials believe that "poor people have become too dependent on government assistance programs” compared to only 50% of their Black peers. Black millennials poll more liberally across raising the minimum wage, gun control, welfare support, immigration reform and healthcare, with a huge 82% in favor of it vs White Americans’ 34% (Page 58). These social differences manifest themselves religiously as well. African Americans report having the highest rates of people identifying as Christian, weekly church attendance and the lowest rates of millennials becoming disengaged from the church (Deckman).
It appears that the Black church is not seeing the same, proportional, decline amongst Millennials and Gen Zs as White denominations, yet they do experience a similar decline, albeit on a much smaller scale. As part of the same Religious Landscape Study, Pew Research Center showed that compared to 86% of Black Protestant Gen Xers, only 80% of Older Millennials saw religion as “very” important. The proportion sinks to 73% when looking at Younger Millennials. Where 53% of Black Gen Xers attend weekly religious service, only 43% of Older Millennials do and 48% of Younger Millennials (Pew Research Center). In fact, “ …while 17 percent of African Americans in 2014 reported rarely or never attending church services frequently, 29 percent of black Gen Z Americans report attending church little to none” (Deckman). Looking at prayer between the generations, we see more of the same. 86% of Gen X prays daily while only 75% and 68% of Older and Younger Millennials, respectively, follow suit. This begs the two questions: “Why are Black Protesant Millennials falling in religious metrics?” and “Why aren’t they falling at the same rate as their White peers?”
The Decline
“Would-be churchgoers…see hostility toward the LGBTQ community and the reinforcement of patriarchal gender norms, among other antiquated ideals, in direct contention with the promotion of a just God of love and fairness. He said Black millennials and Gen Zers have decided not to tolerate that as they're asking "the hard questions that were forbidden back in the day." -Rev. Carlyle F. Stewart IV (Richardson)
Increasingly Negative Perception
Protestant Christian institutions notoriously harbor large anti-LGBTQ sentiment, due to many bible scriptures claiming homosexuality as a sin and marriage as an act between a man and a woman. Statistics show that while about 69% of White Evangelicals oppose same-sex marriage, 48% of Black protestants stand against it, with another 48% in support (Abdul-Alim). This seems to create a disconnect, in which, many Black Protestants do not have a problem with same-sex marriage, but due to the nature of these religious institutions only voices in opposition are promoted. I, personally, have memories of a friend my age trying argue that the Hebrew word for homosexual actually translated to “child molestor” thus when the Bible spoke against them, one should actually interpret this as it speaking against pedophiles. I have another memory of my grandma saying she loved everything former-President Obama did while in office, except his support for same-sex marriage. Thus this disconnect between generations does not go unnoticed. The vehement disdain for same-sex couples seems to directly contradict the “love everybody” gospel many claim the religion promotes. In a church where babies are born out of wedlock or preachers live in million dollar mansions while the rest of their congregation struggles to make ends meet, that homosexuality is what is given attention and where people would chose to draw the line seems farfetched. Issues such as these fuel why some perceive what they colloquially know as “the Black Church” to be hypocritical. A Georgetown poll of college-age Millennials revealed that 64% found Christianity to be "anti-gay," 62% to be "judgmental," and 58% to be "hypocritical" (Abdul-Alim). Author David Kinnaman confounds these findings by claiming others find Christians, themselves, to be “hypocritical, anti-homosexual, and judgmental” and “too concerned with converting people to the faith” (Challenger 18). Yet another study found “Lack of commitment, lack of drive, judgments of others” and “hypocritical attitudes” to be factors driving down religious participation (Cobbins 66).
Change in Outlook
Statistics show that Millenials and Gen Zs are significantly more socially liberal than previous generations. According to a 2019 Pew Research Center report, 61% and 62% of Gen Zs and Millennials approved of NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, while only about 4 in 10 (44%) of Gen Xers approved. The two younger generations polled about 10 percentage points ahead of Gen X when it came to viewing increased diversity as “good for society” and 20 points ahead when asked if same-sex and interracial marriage are “good for society” (Parker). Though, in times past, the Black church has been seen as progressive with sermons and advocacy for racial equality, today many see it as socially conservative for its opposition to same-marriage, LGBTQ rights, abortion and insistence on traditional gender norms. This creates a disconnect in which young Black Millenials and Gen Zs are attracted to some ideological aspects of the church yet shun others. This leads Denise Page, student at Ashbury Theological Seminary, to theorize that people have seen the Black church give a “weak response” issues they are passionate about, such as “gay rights, controversial immigration policies, police brutality, and the killing of unarmed civilians” and have turned to “secular” organizations that actively combat these issues, like Black Lives Matters (Page 141). It seems that many are frustrated by the fail-safe, traditional approach of praying the social ills away. This perceived inability to step up and advocate for change, along with the previously-discussed negative perceptions of the church led Millennial expert Mark Taylor to claim the college-aged students view organized religion as a "strongly morally judgmental without accepting responsibility to accept truly 'religious' missions, like helping the poor and socially disenfranchised" (Abdul Alim).
The Religious Right
On top of the refusal of many churches to advocate on issues Black Millennials and Gen Zs care about, the most publicized accounts of Christians advocating are those of outspoken White Evangelical and Christian Nationalist groups. These groups have been fervent in their support for former-President Trump and his xenophobic and intolerant comments, as well as strong stances against abortion, Muslim immigration, Hispanic immigration and Critical Race Theory. The Southern Baptist Convention, a collection of over 50,000 Evangelical churches recently came under fire for putting out a statement saying Critical Race Theory, the study of how racism against African-Americans has embedded itself structurally within America, is “incompatible with the Baptist Faith & Message.” They followed this with a similar statement which claimed the study of the “intersectionality” of identities to be “antithetical to the Bible and the only Gospel that can save” (Bailey & Boorstein). It seems that as White Evangelical groups see their position as more and more threatened within America, they seek to become more vocal to safeguard an erosion of traditional values” (Whitehead). Following these statements many Black pastors who were members of the predominantly White organization decried the statements and pulled their churches out of the group. Those who took issue lambasted these statements as tantamount to denying the struggles African-Americans go through, perpetuating racism and creating an issue that was not previously present. One such accusation, that these statements were politically motivated, brought attention to the increasing wedding between White Evangelical groups and former-President Trump, who had earlier lashed out against C.R.T. 81% of White Evangelicals voted for Trump in 2016, according to exit polling data, and following multiple rounds of derogatory comments about immigrants and refusing to call out white supremacists, the divisive personality still enjoys public support from the voting bloc (Demby & Marisol Maeraji).
Though Christianity enjoys a place as one of the bedrocks of African-American society, it has always faced uncomfortable accusations of being the “master’s religion.” Movements reject Christianity, due to this association, like that of the Nation of Islam have largely fallen out of cultural relevance. However, associations like those between Trump and White Evangelical groups reinforce the link between Christianity and the ignorant Religious Right (and more so, Christianity and White Supremacy). It adds another layer to disconnect between the much-touted loving message of the bible and the reality of the religion.
Moving Away
The final reason I will discuss regarding why young people are becoming disenchanted with religious organizations is that many move away to attend college. Research shows a persistent dip in religious activity between the ages of 18-22. According to a Lifeway study, 75% of young Black adults and 65% of White young adults reported they stopped attending church for at least a year between the ages of 18 and 22 (Banks). Another study shows that only 44% of those who attended church regularly during high school claimed to still attend church more than twice a month (Banks). Referencing the aforementioned Religious Landscape Study, 55% of Younger Millennials and 60% of Older Millennials attended at least some college, indicating that this proportion of young people faced this same pressure.
Mark Croston, who works for the Southern Baptist Convention explains that “Very often in African-American culture, we’re really, really tied to what we would call our home church, the church you grew up in… And so for many of our students, as they would move away to college, they would in their minds still be holding onto their relationship with their church back where they grew up” (Banks). It seems that as young people are removed from the compulsion to attend church and influence of the one which they are accustomed to, they start to more actively question the institution. Ultimately, some will choose to forgo it altogether. There are, however, some who claim that young African-Americans are likely to “shop around” for a new church which better fits their beliefs than to simply disavow organized religion. Pastor Phil Duncanson is quoted saying that Black people have “desire to still go to church and be part of one, but it is not the traditional experience they are after.” He continues, “Many of them are flocking to those so-called churches that promote themselves as ‘doing church differently.’ These type of churches are all over Atlanta, a hot bed for African-American millennials” (Anyabwile & Adams).
There is not readily apparent data on how widespread this phenomenon is, apart from anecdotal evidence, but if true then this would help contextualize what young Black Protestants do to resolve the myriad of issues they have with traditional churches.
Why do young African-Americans stay in the church?
After exploring this seemingly-exhaustive list of why young Black Americans have become increasingly frustrated with the church, it is important to ask why they choose to continue attending. Apart from familial expectation and negative views regarding atheists, the answer lies rooted in history.
Almost since the inception of Black congregations, the church has sought to give Black people a place of refuge from the horrors of the outside world. Despite the fact that it was, indeed, the “master’s religion,” it also has a fairly nuanced history. There were religious justifications that came from the bible, used to prop up slavery, yet there was also a strong movement to keep slaves from learning to read the bible, themselves. Against their masters’ wishes slaves would hold secret church services in the woods. Through this avenue, people gave meaning to their situation.
Upon freedom many denominations quickly sprang up: the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and the National Baptist Convention. Though different in nature each gave “hope for the hopeless, faith for the faithless, joy and celebration in the midst of much pain and degradation” (Walker). The church was a place for the Black community to meet in a hostile world, and though these spaces are not needed to the levels they once were, there is no denying their historical importance. Additionally, although historians note that there was never near-universal support for the movement amongst churches, the African-American church was front and center during the Civil Rights Movement, with activists like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr breathing new life into the Black Church.
Even today, the Black church may be one of the few Black-majority places accessible to people, and “sometimes it is freeing to spend a few hours in a place where you are not a minority” (Anyabwile & Adams). There is a different kind of comfort one feels, as a minority, when in these spaces; the constant pressure of fitting in, feeling isolated, codeswitching, etc. cease to exist. As young people move away from their homes, these churches are one of the few safe spaces where they can find a comfortable environment and receive financial or emotional support. Kelli Slater, a student of Howard University, the most prestigious HBCU said it best: “I think black churches do a whole lot more than religion” (Banks).
Conclusion
As Millennials and Gen Zs continue to age, it will be fascinating to see how religious trends change or stay constant. Thus far, both generations have shown a surprising willingness to shun religious institutions, when compared to their parents. Reasons to do so typically stem from disagreements over values, yet there is comparatively little literature as to how this looks within Historically Black Churches. Statistics show a similar trend of Black young people leaving the church, albeit on a much smaller scale. In this essay I have provided a look into the literature of the field, identifying why young African-American Millennials and Gen Zs, specifically, might be leaving the church. Reasons for this include a negative perception of the institution, a discrepancy in social values between young people and these institutions, a rising association of Christianity with the Religious Right and college-age students simply moving away from home. On the other hand, a reason why young Black people are not leaving the church at the same rate as their White peers, and why they appear to be more religiously affiliated in general, is the historical and continued significance of the church in the Black community. As churches look to find ways to retain youth it is, first, helpful to look at the reasons why they may have chosen to leave.
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