Is your church, synagogue, mosque, or temple racially integrated?

[Renee in NC]

I am sorry if I left out anyone - please respond anyway!:D

 

I found this article about churches not being racially integrated here:

 

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/08/04/segregated.sundays/index.html

 

My church is racially integrated - there are people of all races and nationalities! The only segregation is by language - we have 2 Spanish services, 1 English service, and 1 bi-lingual service. There are also separate English and Spanish programs, classes, etc.

 

What about your place of worship?

[Michelle T]

I admit to very rarely attending temple services (I'm Reform Jew) but I've been to several different temples. There are VERY rarely any people of color, but I think that's just because for the most part, there are very few people of color who are Jews. KWIM? So it's not that the temple is un-integrated, but there just aren't that many Jews who aren't white. In theory, there would be no problem whatsoever in integrating all different races into the service/temple/synagogue.

 

And yes, I know that of course, there ARE Jews who are black, Asian, any other group. But they are definitely the minority.

Michelle T

[Remudamom]

Yep.

[clwcain]

Oh yeah... :D

[Faithr]

I'm Catholic in a very diverse area, so we are pretty integrated. You'll see African Americans, Africans, Indians (from India!), Vietnamese, Korean, Hispanic. Probably more than half are 'white' but there is a fair minority presence.

[OnTheBrink]

Our church has mostly white people, but there are some black, South American, and Asian people, too.

[Renee in NC]

I'm Catholic in a very diverse area, so we are pretty integrated. You'll see African Americans, Africans, Indians (from India!), Vietnamese, Korean, Hispanic. Probably more than half are 'white' but there is a fair minority presence.

 

I am Catholic as well, but Latinos are the majority in our church.

[Laurie4b]

Yes. The mix is primarily Caucasian/Asian, with some African Americans, and a growing group of Latinos. There are also families from several different countries represented.

[Twinmom]

Yep. We live in a predominately white area, but still seem to have attracted a diverse group. When you count all the adopted children, it gets even more diverse.

[Kim in Appalachia]

which is to say, not at all. At least not along racial lines. But we do have a diverse socio-economic group. And it is also diverse in the type of families (meaning divorced, remarried, singles, etc...).

[sdWTMer]

Yep.

[Staci in MO]

Our area seems to have definite white or black neighborhoods. We do have diverse races and nationalities at our church, but more whites than anything else.

[Erica in PA]

No, and I do not like that at all. We moved to this small town/rural area three years ago, from the Philly suburbs. We went from being a minority ourselves as a white family in our community, to being part of a community made up almost entirely of caucasians. It's still surprising to us to look around our church on a Sunday morning and see no people of color at all. Our previous church in the Philly area was well-integrated, and it was such a blessing! Though we love our current church, that is one thing I would definitely change if I could. There are so few African Americans in our area, though, it's not so much an issue of integration as it is, there are just not many minorities living in this area.

 

Erica

[PariSarah]

As someone in our church recently said during a study of James 2, "It's easy not to be prejudiced against a black neurosurgeon."

 

I could not say for sure, but I would guess that virtually all of our non-white members rank among the top 5% of the country in terms of education, and at or above the median household income.

 

Our membership as a whole draws heavily from people associated with the three major universities located less than 20 miles away from it, and tends to reflect the racial and ethnic makeup of those universities, in which minorities are reasonably well-represented. It does not reflect the racial and ethnic make-up of our town, in which the historically disadvantaged ethnicities and races are overrepresented. (In other words, the town is only about 50% white, but the university is about 75% white. Our church tend towards the latter.)

[Karenciavo]

80% White

20% Black, Puerto Rican, Korean, Mexican, Indian

We also have a Korean service.

 

We have pretty substantial Mexican and Indian communities at apartments down the street and while they do come to us for English as a second language courses they are generally not Presbyterian so they don't attend our church. A few do.

[Brindee]

We have a small congregation--anywhere from 30 -80 there each week. Yet we have a good amount of racial integration! I like it that way!

 

When I was a teenager we went to a predominately black church. We LOVED it there! There was one other white family the rest were black. They kind of adopted us, and told us we were their "token" whites! :lol: The services were more "real" there than any church I've been to!

[Kelli in TN]

Yes. It was one of the most important things our pastor sought when he founded the church 5 years ago.

[nutmeg]

We have services in Spanish, Korean, and English, and small group meetings for East Indian and Chinese believers. In the specific service we attend, lyrics and sermon notes are projected in Korean and English and the congregation sings in both language simultaneously. Routinely, prayers are spoken from the pulpet in a language not comprehended by my ears, but by my heart.

[autumndivona]

Yes, it absolutely is! The thought of any church that is not seems wrong to me. People are people, and we are all equal.

[Tracey in TX]

Our church is more racially diverse than our community, which is 88% caucasian. You'll find families who hail from India, Latinos, African Americans, and Asians. (I would say there are more rednecks than culturally diverse individuals, though.)

[Karenciavo]

Yes, it absolutely is! The thought of any church that is not seems wrong to me. People are people, and we are all equal.

 

What are you supposed to do when you have a case like Erica's, bus people in? Why does it have to be the individual church's fault?

[TravelingChris]

I think that in many communities, the churches reflect the community. I live in an island town which has only a few black people living in it. There are more than a few churches here so we can't all have one in our congregation. I think we may actually have one come to our first service but even if we didn't, considering there are hardly any blacks here, that wouldn't mean anything.

 

Our mix is as least as great as the community. We have enlisted and officers, lawyers and office clerks, very wealthy and some who are struggling. Most of us are doing okay but that is the nature of living in our community.

 

When we were worshipping at the base chapel overseas, we had a racially integrated service. I am not looking for that or against that. We were looking for a friendly, smaller, Bible preaching, service providing church when we moved here and that is what we found. Except for the base chapel, I know most of our churches had been predomininantly white but that is a result of what cities we lived in or communities or because we tend to go to denomintations that aren't as attractive to the black community (usually Calvinist).

 

That article was published in a paper from a racially mixed city but many people live in areas that are not mixed at all.

[Melinda in VT]

which is to say, not at all. At least not along racial lines. But we do have a diverse socio-economic group. And it is also diverse in the type of families (meaning divorced, remarried, singles, etc...).

 

Exactly how it is here. Our church reflects the area.

[Peek a Boo]

When I was a teenager we went to a predominately black church. We LOVED it there! There was one other white family the rest were black. They kind of adopted us, and told us we were their "token" whites! :lol: The services were more "real" there than any church I've been to!

 

when we first moved to this area and were church shopping we stumbled into an all black church. It was a HUGE congregation --at least a couple hundred people. We were The. Only. white folk there. They were all cool about it, but we sure did stick out, lol. It really was a blast. We didn't stay cuz there were a few doctrinal things we weren't on board w/, but we're often tempted to go back and visit :)

[3lilreds in NC]

when we first moved to this area and were church shopping we stumbled into an all black church. It was a HUGE congregation --at least a couple hundred people. We were The. Only. white folk there. They were all cool about it, but we sure did stick out, lol. It really was a blast. We didn't stay cuz there were a few doctrinal things we weren't on board w/, but we're often tempted to go back and visit :)

 

You and my mom would get along so well! There are several small, all-black churches on the street into town from our house, and one pretty big one. I find it interesting that we have a "white" Baptist church and a "black" Baptist church, on opposite sides of the street a few blocks apart. She *really* wants to visit one of the all-black churches. We probably should, because I haven't liked my church much since we started going there and I am pretty sure it can't be any worse. :D

 

I would not call ours racially integrated, although we do have some mixed couples who come there and I think it's totally fabulous that they feel comfortable in our church. I've seen lots of different people, and we have folks from all walks of life, but we live in Yuppieville USA and it's mostly white. Our pastor likes to think we have a diverse congregation though, LOL.

[sweetbaby]

Yep, as it should be. We are one body. My pastor is caucasian and co pastor is african american. Our church is probaby 50/50 but who cares enough to count.:)

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

Yes, it is diverse in many ways including race, economics, and education.

[Pamela H in Texas]

completely integrated here though we do have a Spanish congregation that does meetings before/after ours for those that speak no English. But English speaking Africans, blacks, whites, hispanics, asians, and anyone else you can think of are all together. I'd GUESS we're about 15-20% hispanic, 30-35% white, 40% black, some of a few other cultures.

 

Most churches here follow the "most segregated hour" rule though with just a token "other" here and there.

[Alenee]

which is to say, not at all. At least not along racial lines. But we do have a diverse socio-economic group. And it is also diverse in the type of families (meaning divorced, remarried, singles, etc...).

 

Yep, this could be said about our church as well.

[Alenee]

What are you supposed to do when you have a case like Erica's, bus people in? Why does it have to be the individual church's fault?

 

Yes, really, what are you supposed to do? :confused: Coming to a religious service of any kind is a totally personal decision. It's not like they're the public schools and decide that there's not enough diversity and re-zone. (this actually happened in our city with the schools)

[fivetails]

Ours isn't "racially diverse" (right term? ethnically diverse? pick your phrase LOL) - but then, neither is our town.....it's not something that the church chose to be/not be, it's just because of the makeup of residents here.

[Kris]

What about your place of worship?

 

Even though I don't have a local place of worship, I can still answer this question: No. Our *county* is not racially integrated.

[urban_mom]

trying! We aren't even where we'd like to be, but we're probably 60/40 white to anything else. We're right on the border between a prominently hispanic and prominently african-american neighborhood, and we're trying to make it a place where people can all come together.

 

Some people would say our worship is a little more "black" and our preaching is a little more "white". It's a struggle to get everyone to agree on stuff, but we're making a valiant effort, I believe.

[Jean in Newcastle]

No. My family is the only non-white family there. Since dh is the interim pastor there most people don't expect it.

[Osmosis Mom]

-or an Islamic Center. There are different ones, but they are all racially and socio-economically diverse. However, people tend to hang out with people from their own home-countries so they can use their own language, but it is not a matter of people not wanting to mix or anything.

[mktkcb]

This is SO odd. I live in S. CA, and the only "segregated" churches I know of are by language. Spanish, Korean, etc. Our church certainly isn't. We have a whole menagerie of races from white to hispanic to black to japanese to you name it. No one even thinks about it. Really. Not only that, we have several *gasp* mixed race marriages! I'm sure I live in a fairly melting-pot-ish society over her, but it still seems strange to me. Actually, I usually imagine black churches would be more worried about this than predominately white ones, although I'm sure there are *white* churches somewhere that might be sort of racist. Wierd.

Kayleen

[LisaNY]

I belong to a Messianic congregation, and we're truly a league of nations.

We have members from:

 

Guatemala

Colombia

Ethiopia

Haiti

Puerto Rico

Russia

India

Chile

 

Oh! And New Jersey! :D

[Kelli in TN]

completely integrated here though we do have a Spanish congregation .

 

We just started this as well. I have not been (I don't speak the language!!! I would be so lost!!!) but I understand it is vibrant and growing.

[Kelli in TN]

Not only that, we have several *gasp* mixed race marriages!

 

Same here! I can think of three off the top of my head, but we have three church services, so there might be more.

[Pamela H in Texas]

I have to say I'm surprised by this thread.

 

Like I said, in our area, Sunday most certainly is the "most segregated hour" except where we go. And supposedly that is the case for much of the country going based on news reports.

 

Seems odd that this board is so different.

[Kelli in TN]

I have to say I'm surprised by this thread.

 

Like I said, in our area, Sunday most certainly is the "most segregated hour" except where we go. And supposedly that is the case for much of the country going based on news reports.

 

Seems odd that this board is so different.

 

Hey, what do you expect? We are WTM'ers. We LOVE diversity! Just look at this board, just look what happens when someone tries to mess with our peaceful diversity.

 

We're just cool that way.

[autumndivona]

What are you supposed to do when you have a case like Erica's, bus people in? Why does it have to be the individual church's fault?

 

Of course the congregants will depend upon the area and the interests of the people; my thinking on the subject was more along the lines of whether or not a church is open to all people or specifically turning certain people away. I think it would be wrong to limit a congregation. The question did not seem to be one with regard to population, but rather acceptance of all people in a spiritual community.

 

But perhaps I misread the intention of the original question...?

[Lolly]

No, it really isn't. it has been thoughly discussed before in many different meetings as to how to remedy the problem.

[mommaduck]

Our particular church, no (because it is a small church plant in a culturally diverse, but not "racially" diverse area). However, many of our sister churches are.

[Harriet Vane]

It was a basic requirement for us. We live in an African-American community (we are white), and it was important to us to be in a diverse church.

 

When we first came to the city we didn't worry quite as much about diversity. We felt it would be fine to be the only whites in a black church if need be. However, we ended up most comfortable at a church that was 70/30, with African Americans being the majority. We stayed at that church for seven years. When we left the church, we specifically looked for a church that had a healthy racial mix. Our area is very diverse (our neighborhood is primarily African American but the suburb right next door is quite diverse) so we wanted our church to reflect that diversity and to be intentional in being a comfortable place for many different cultural traditions. Our present church is 60/40, with African Americans being the majority.

[6packofun]

Yes. Our pastor and his wife are white and have 4 white children and 4 adopted black children, which is very cool. You know, we don't have a *lot* of black families at our church--definitely not in the ratio that mimics the surrounding community.

 

BUT, church is very different from neighborhoods and sometimes "integration" there is not a thing that is desired (necessary?) by some minorities as much as you would think, considering how loudly they want it in other areas of life. Not criticizing, just critiquing what I sense...

[Scarlett]

My religion is, but each congregation reflects the local mix.

[Peek a Boo]

Of course the congregants will depend upon the area and the interests of the people; my thinking on the subject was more along the lines of whether or not a church is open to all people or specifically turning certain people away. I think it would be wrong to limit a congregation. The question did not seem to be one with regard to population, but rather acceptance of all people in a spiritual community.

 

But perhaps I misread the intention of the original question...?

 

 

hm. when i read the article it was speaking as if there WAS a need to specifically integrate a church -- like Lolly said : a problem that needs to be remedied.

 

[the following is my opinion from a Christian/ Biblical perspective]

 

these are some pretty random thoughts, so feel free to read past them if need be. Something about this whole thread is striking me wrong... or maybe as "incomplete"..., but i haven't been able to phrase it well yet.

 

Personally, I don't think it's an issue the church needs to "remedy" by doing something other than just preaching what they are supposed to preach: in Christ there is no Jew or Greek, male or female. I'm guessing no races either.

 

as you mentioned: is the church open to all? great.

 

are they diverse because lots of people simply enjoy that church? great!

 

is the membership not diverse simply because of socio-economic/ cultural preference/ geographical boundary/ language issues??? that's ok! work w/ what you got and seek to minister to others.

 

is the not-diverse membership thriving in their walk w/ Christ? that's GREAT! that's not a problem to be "remedied."

 

if a church puts Christ and serving others first, that's the main thing. I'd probably leave a church that was more caught up in "establishing the right amount of diversity" than actually preaching Christ. real acceptance of all people comes WITH Christ. i don't think that diversity and Christ are at odds at all. I also don't think a great church REQUIRES diversity to be a great church.

[mommaduck]

Also, as one poster stated (in her case, I believe it was Jewish), there are just some faiths that are predominantly more one ethnicity than another. This isn't due to rejection of an ethnicity, but rather that those ethnicities are generally already somewhere else.

[laylamcb]

...racial reconciliation is one of the things most on my pastor's heart. He and his wife adopted two black children (they have 9 biological kids; the boys are their youngest). He is very close friends with the pastor of a local, predominantly black Baptist church. Their congregation and our congregation often do things together, and our pastors swap and preach at each other's churches (especially interesting because we're Presbyterian (PCA)).

 

And yet...their congregation remains overwhelmingly (almost exclusively) black, and ours remains predominantly "white" (other ethnicities, but besides my pastor's kids and our friends from the other church coming to visit...). So I'm not really sure if we can say, "Woohoo! We're integrated!" YKWIM?

 

Socio-economically? Yes, very much so. And there are plenty of Asians, Hispanics/Latinos, and others (many via adoption, which is also very big in my church). But black-white? I think my pastor would say no--and this is something that weighs very heavily on his heart.