black catholics social and cultural characteristics

8/6/2019 Black Catholics Social and Cultural Characteristics

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Black Catholics: Social and Cultural CharacteristicsAuthor(s): Jon P. Alston, Letitia T. Alston, Emory WarrickSource: Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Dec., 1971), pp. 245-255Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2783929 .Accessed: 23/05/2011 21:02

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BLACKCATHOLICSSocialand Cultural haracteristics

JON P. ALSTON,LETITIAT. ALSTON,EMORY WARRICKUniversity f Georgia

In recent ears, here has been an increasing nterest n thesocio-economic ifferences mong religious roups n Amer-ica (Alston, 1969; Goldstein, 969; Gockel, 1969;Glenn ndHyland, 1967; Jackson t al., 1970). However, most studiesfail to simultaneously ontrol for the variablesof race andreligious ffiliation oth. With ew exceptions,' black RomanCatholicshavebeen neglected s a topic of research, nd littleis known about this religious ategory. his lacuna is in partthe consequenceof the small number f black Catholics. n1957, only 6% of the nonwhite opulation was Catholic asagainst 28%of the white population U.S. Bureauof Census,1958: Table 1).

However, he increase f black conversions o CatholicismsinceWorld War I shows hisgroup obe highly ynamic. n

AUTHORS'NOTE:The research eported erewassupported y theUniversity f Georgia ibrary ystem nd the Roper Public OpinionResearchCenter, which upplied he data. An earlier ersion f thismanuscript as presented t the Society or the Study of Religion,Southeast egionalMeetingsnAtlanta, eorgia, n January 0, 1970.

[2451


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1967, one out of eight Catholicadult converts was black, s

against ne out of fourteen n 1953 (Feagin, 1968: 190).Within his context, here xists n important roblem orsociologists. Given that a minority of blacks are beingattracted o Catholicism, t is important o know why theseconversions re taking place and what some of the conse-quences of these changes are. An investigation f blackCatholicswillenableus to see if these conversions re a resultof a differential ovement nto a religion which holds morecongenial aluesand attitudes. t may wellbe that blacks reincreasingly eing ttracted o Catholicism ecause certain fthem wish to divorce hemselves rom he black, revivalistic-oriented Protestant religion. Black Catholics may rejectProtestantism ecause, as more and more blacks enter ntothe middle classes, they wish to associate with middle-classreligious ehavior nd beliefs Feagin, 1968: 191). That is,upward mobility may encourage blacks to seek out churcheswith more congenial ttitudes nd beliefs. However, f whiteProtestant hurches refuse black members, lacks may beforced o seek elsewhere or ompatible hurchmembership.The present paper attempts o differentiate etween blackProtestants nd black Catholics n terms f socioeconomicposition, ecular ttitudes, nd religious eliefs, o seeof eachcategory does or does not resemble its white religiouscounterpart.

Contemporary ata based on national samples indicatethat religious groups do vary in attitudes, beliefs, andsocioeconomicposition. Norval D. Glenn 1964) contrastednonwhite rotestants ith white Catholics nd white Protes-tants. Nonwhites were found to be more religious nd moretheologically raditional-fundamentalistic. hey also-in con-trast to white Protestants nd white Catholics-felt thatchurches hould be more concerned with social and politicalissues Glenn, 1964: 625-626).

In the most extensive analysis of Protestant-Catholicattitudinal differences ublished in recent years, Leonard


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Broom and Norval D. Glenn (1966) found that whiteProtestants were, in contrast with white Catholics, lesstolerant, olitically more conservative, nd lower-scoring nauthoritarian tems.Catholicsweremore religiously rthodoxand believedmore n in-group marriage. owever, hese andother differences were often slight, and the Catholic-Protestant ifferences ere, on the average, ess than theJewish-Christian ifferences Broom and Glenn, 1966).

Gerhard Lenski (1963), using a more restricted ample,found that white Protestants were more oriented towardwork and constructive ses of leisure time than were theCatholics.By contrast, lack Protestants ere at times moresimilar to white Catholics than they were to the whiteProtestants. n terms f both political deology and familyorientation, black Protestants ended to reflect Catholicrather than Protestant values when social class was heldconstant Lenski, 1963: 113, 212-259).This paper seeks tosubstantiate enski's findings hrough he use of nationalsamples sing wider ange f attitudinal tems.

THE SAMPLE

The data are derived rom wo national polls conducted ythe American nstitute f Public Opinion during 1957 and1962. Unfortunately, he total number f black Catholics nour sample is small. Errors due to sampling variation relarge, nd our findings re only tentative, lthough ompari-son of our samples with thers hows hat our samples per seare representative Glenn and Hyland, 1967; U.S. Bureau ofthe Census, 1958). Our three argest eligious-racial roupsshow a high comparative onsistency n their ocio-economicstandings s reflected n other tudies Goldstein, 1969). Wefeel that, on an exploratory evel, a small sample can beutilized o delineate eneral rends nd differences.


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[248] JOURNAL OF BLACKSTUDIES / DECEMBER 1971

TABLE 1Responsesof White Catholics 1), Black Catholics I1),

White Protestants 111), nd Black Protestants IV)to ReligiousQuestions in percentages)

White Black White BlackCatholics Catholics Protestants Protestants

I 11 Ill IV

At the present ime, do you think eligion s a whole is increasing ts nfluence nAmerican ife r losing ts nfluence? 1957)Increasing 83 68 73 54Losing 7 21 15 39Same 10 11 12 7Number % = 100) 356 19 918 136Should the churches keep out of political matters r should they xpress viewsonday-to-day ocial and political questions? 1957)Keep out 48 40 50 33Expressviews 52 60 50 67Number % = 100) 345 20 897 130Do you believe that religion an answer ll or most of today's problems? 1957)Can answer 91 100 95 96Old-fashioned 9 - 5 4Number % = 100) 333 19 860 131Do you believethat there s or is not a devil? 1957)Is 65 65 62 83Is not 20 35 27 17Uncertain 15 - 11Number % = 100) 368 19 977 128Did you, yourself, appen to attend church n the ast seven days? (1957)Yes 77 65 44 44No 33 35 56 56Number M = 100) 370 20 982 144Do you think person an be a Christian f he doesn't go to church? 1957)Yes 73 75 82 70No 22 25 14 28Uncertain 5 - 4 2Number %= 100) 368 20 978 141Do you think hat a person an be a Christian ven f he doesn't believe hat everyword of the NewTestament s true?Yes 73 60 66 50No 17 25 26 39Uncertain 10 15 8 11Number %= 100) 368 20 976 142


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DATA ANALYSIS

Table 1 consists of seven items dealing with religiousattitudes. Whilethese few tems do not exhaust the subject,they do enable us to indicate relative position n a limitedmanner.

The first tem deals with whether r not the respondentsfelt that religion was increasing r losing its influence nAmerican ife. n this nstance, black Catholics re closest o

the white Protestants n similarity f answers. n terms ofranking rder, they fall between the black and the whiteProtestants, being least like the white Catholics. BlackCatholics seem more pessimistic han their white religiouscounterparts, ut are not so pessimistic s black Protestants.The same general pattern xists n item two: "Should thechurches eepout of political nd socialmatters?" Again, he

black Catholics resemble the white Catholics the least.However, he intraracial ifferences re smaller han for theprevious uestion. This is no doubt influenced y the civilrights movement uring he 1950s, with which many blackleaders were religiously ffiliated. he answer atterns f thequestion, asked in March 1957, must be viewed within tstemporal ontext. n any case, both white religious groups

are higher n feeling that the churches should be moreinsulated rom ecular ctivities.The third tem-"Do you believe that religion an answer

all or most of today's problems?"-indicates high degree fsimilarity mong all groups, with the black Catholics beingslightlymore positive han the other groups.The differencesamong he groups re too smallfor further nalysis.However,

it is interesting hat white Catholics have the lowestpercentage tating hat religion an be an answer o today'sproblems, specially ince they were highest n stating itemone) that religion was increasing ts influence n Americansociety.

The last four items in Table 1 deal with theologicallyrelated attitudes nd behavior. n terms of believing n the


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[2501 JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES /DECEMBER1971

existence f a devil, the black Catholicsclosely esemble hewhites f both groups. Only the black Protestants iverge, nthat most (83%) state they believe n the devil. Here, theblack Protestants re more fundamentalistic han the otherthree acial-religiousategories.

Church ttendance lso reveals ntraracial ivergences. heblack Catholics resemble the white Catholics the most,although the two categories re not completely like. Thetwo Protestant ategories, owever, re exactly like. If wedefine hurch ttendance s reflecting traditional/orthodoxattitude, hen we see that Catholicsof either ace are moretraditional, lthough the black Catholics place slightly essemphasis n the value of church ttendance.

When asked if church ttendance were a requirement orgood religious tanding, Catholics of both races tended toemphasize its importance. However, the black Protestantswere also high on this item, although owest in actualattendance. There seems to be less conflict n terms ofattitude and behavior for the white Protestants. elativelylow in seeing the necessity for regular hurch ttendance,they were also lowest n actual attendance. he significanceof the item on the belief n the mportance f attendance iesin the fact hat he two Catholic groupsweremost imilar.

The last item-asking whether person can be a Christianwithout believing hat every word of the New Testament strue-indicates hat both Catholic categories end to be lesspermissive han their racial counterparts, hough the blackProtestants end to be as rigid n their mphasis n Biblicalauthority.

In summary, he last four tems n Table 1, those dealingwith religious beliefs, ndicate that black Catholics tendtoward Catholic rather han Protestant deology, lthoughthe two categories re not exactly the same. We suggest hatthe above items ndicate partial ejection n the part of theblack Catholics of the revivalistic-fundamentalisticrienta-tion of the more traditional Negro churches. That is, the


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Alston et al. / BLACKCATHOLICS [2511

attraction f Catholicism or blacks has been influenced yan upward mobility movement from the lower-class radi-tional black religious environment o a more middle-classorientation.

The above speculations re strengthened y the findings nTable 2, which consists of three items measuring thesocioeconomic position of the four religious-racial roupsunder investigation. We see from Table 2 that black Cath-olics, in comparison with black Protestants, end to have ahigher concentration of those in the $3,000 to $5,000income range. Although the proportion f blacks in bothreligious roups earning bove that amount s the same, thereversal f percentages n the lower two income categories s

TABLE 2Responsesf White atholics 1),BlackCatholicsI1),

White rotestants 111), nd BlackProtestants IV)to Socio-Economicuestions in percentages)White Black White Black

Catholics Catholics Protestants ProtestantsI 11 II IV

What s the total annual income of all of the members f your mmediate amilyliving n your household? 1962)$ 0 to $2,999 14 33 25 56$3,000 to $4,999 24 50 28 26$5,000 to $9,999 55 1 1 37 14$10,000 and over 7 6 10 4Number %= 100) 677 18 1,776 265Whatwas the highest rade or classyou completed n school? (1962)0-8 27 44 32 63H.S. 56 50 43 31College 18 6 25 6Number %= 100) 690 18 1,782 273Occupation of the chief wage earner n the immediate amily. 1962)White-collar 37 13 38 15Blue-collar 57 87 46 70Farmer 6 - 16 15Number % = 100) 621 8 1,467 213


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[2521 JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / DECEMBER 1971

significant. greater roportion f black Catholics eem tohave entered nto a (for blacks) middle-income evel. n termsof educational evels, lack Catholics lso enjoy a higher-classposition than do the black Protestants, s more blackCatholicshave had one or more years of high chool. Havingmore education nd higher ncomes, we would expect blackCatholics o be more iberal n their eligious ttitudes. heirhigher ocial class in the objective ense) s associated withdecreased belief in the devil, higher ates of church tten-dance, and a more liberal theology see Table 1). Theseassociations re consonant with earlier indings Horton andHunt, 1968: 258; Rhodes, 1960). The fact that the tems fincome and education reflect imilar anking atterns or heblack Catholics and Protestants ncreases ur belief n thegeneral alidity f the small ample.

Black Catholics also have a different ccupational profilefrom black Protestants, he most striking ifference eingfound in the farming ccupation. n this context, the twoCatholic categories re similar. The similarity n occupationbetween the two white categorieswas expected, since theoccupational differences f white Catholics and Protestantsare now slight, specially when measured n terms f theblue-collar/white-collar ichotomy Alston, 1969).

Having more education, higher incomes, and holding(presumably higher-level) rban jobs, the black Catholicsform distinct ocioeconomicgroup from he black Protes-tants. This suggests hat blacks entering nto what may beconsidered the middle class are attracted to Catholicismbecausethey no longer feel comfortable ith he ower-classreligious rientation f the black churches. ince the Catholicchurch s both urban nd more ikely o be integrated, lacksmay have little other choice if they find the white middle-class churches losed to them, especially when these whitechurches-as Gibson Winter 1962) has pointed out-arefleeing to the segregated uburbs. The black Catholics'peculiar ocioeconomic ositionplacesthem n an ambiguous


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[2541 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES/ DECEMBER1971

TABLE3Responses of White Catholics 1), Black Catholics I1),

White Protestants 111), nd Black Protestants IV)to Selected Secular Questions in percentages)White Black White Black

Catholics Catholics Protestants ProtestantsI 11 III IV

What s the ideal number f children? 1962)One - - - 4Two 15 31 18 21Three 19 46 29 21Four or more 57 23 46 52As many s can have or

afford 9 - 7 2Number % = 100) 638 13 1,684 227Do you havethe occasion to use alcoholic beverage or are you a total bstainer?(1957)Use 74 75 51 53Abstain 26 25 49 47Number %= 100) 370 20 975 143Do you object to women drinking in public places . . .? (1957)Yes 41 30 57 52No 59 70 43 48Number %= 100) 345 20 948 142In politics, as of today, do you consider yourself Republican, Democrat, orIndependent? 1962)Republican 12 6 31 13Democrat 68 66 47 66Other 20 28 22 21

Number %= 100) 689 18 1,771 267In general, how happy would you say you are-fairly happy, very happy, or notvery happy? 1957)Very happy 58 21 56 36Fairly happy 38 79 42 56Not very happy 4 - 2 8Number %= 100) 365 19 972 144

In summary, he black Catholics in our two nationalsamples form distinct ocioreligious roup, solated n oneaspect or another romboth their eligious ounterparts ndtheir acialpeers. Their attitudinal ifferences eflect n parttheir social class differences. Because of their singularposition n our society-a minority n terms f both race andreligion-their ttitudinal ifferences hould also be investi-


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Alston et al. / BLACK CATHOLICS [255]

gated in greater detail. We conclude that black Catholicsdiffer nough n the few temsdiscussed bove to suggest hatthis topic is worthy f continuing nterest y students n thefield of social stratification nd in the sociology of religiousbehavior.

NOTES

1. An exception, lthough lack Catholicsare ignored, s Glenn 1964).

2. A similar dilemma viewed in terms of theology and financial support nwhite hurches s discussed n Stark and Glock (1968).

REFERENCES

ALSTON, J. P. (1969) "Occupational placement and mobility f Protestants ndCatholics, 1953-1964." Rev. of ReligiousResearch 10: 135-140.

BROOM, L. and N. D. GLENN (1966) "Religious differences n reportedattitudes nd behavior." Soc. Analysis 27: 187-209.FEAGIN, J. R. (1968) "Black Catholics in the United States: an exploratory

analysis." Soc. Analysis 29: 186-192.GLENN, N. D. (1964) "Negro religion nd Negro status n the United States," pp.

623-639 in L. Schneider ed.) Religion, Culture nd Society. New York: JohnWiley.

---and R. HYLAND (1967) "Religious preference nd worldly uccess: someevidencefrom national surveys." Amer. Soc. Rev. 32: 73-85.

GOCKEL, L. G. (1969) "Income and religious ffiliation: regression nalysis."Amer. J. of Sociology 74: 632-647.GOLDSTEIN, S. (1969) "Socioeconomic differentials mong religious groups n

the United States." Amer. J. of Sociology 74: 612-631.HORTON, P. B. and C. L. HUNT (1968) Sociology. New York: McGraw-Hill.JACKSON, E. F., W. S. FOX, and H. CROCKETT, Jr. 1970) "Religion and

occupational achievement." Amer. Soc. Rev. 35: 48-63.LENSKI, G. (1963) The ReligiousFactor. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday.---(1956) "Social participation nd status crystallization." Amer. Soc. Rev.

21: 458-464.RHODES, A. L. (1960) "Authoritarianism nd fundamentalism f rural and

urban high chool students." J. of Educational Sociology 34: 97-105.STARK, R. and C. Y. GLOCK (1968) "Will ethics be the death of Christianity?"

Transaction (June): 7-14.U.S. Bureau of the Census 1958) "Religion reported y the civilianpopulation of

the United States, March 1957." Current opulation Reports Series, P-20, 79,February.

WINTER,G. (1962) The Suburban Captivity f Churches. New York: Macmillan.

black catholics social and cultural characteristics

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