Black Catholics

After rejoicing last week about women’s leadership, I must write about my response to the Pew report issued this week analyzing Black Catholics in the US. Pew has an outsize influence on American religious conversation because they have data, careful data. All religious groups come under their scrutiny, not just Catholics, though Catholics, even Bishops, do respond to some of their results, the disaffection among youth being a recent example.

Last year Pew published a report on the religious life of Black Americans, and this year analyzed the data again to focus on a tiny segment in that study: Black Catholics. They are only 6 percent of U.S. Blacks and only 4 percent of US Catholics, yet certain anomalies in the larger study piqued enough interest to generate a specific report.

In NCR, Tia Noelle Pratt, the compiler of an extensive bibliography on Black Catholic history, #BlackCatholicSyllabus, emphasizes that the three million Black Catholics are not to be erased from either narrative despite the small percentages. And they are “not a monolith”: “20% of Black Americans born in sub-Saharan Africa and 15% of Caribbean-born Black Americans identify as Catholic while only 5% of U.S.-born Black Americans identify as Catholic.” These are much larger immigrant percentages than in Black Protestant churches.

Turning that around, Yonat Shimron, writing for the Religion News Service, reports that 68 percent of Black Catholics are U.S.-born, about 12 percent are from Africa, the Caribbean (11 percent) or other parts of the Americas (5 percent). Probably 4% from Asia? Europe?

Pratt calls on church leaders and researchers to recognize this diversity, especially in their pastoral care of Black Catholics. Shimron notes: “The U.S. Catholic Church has five Black bishops and one Black cardinal—Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, who is the first African American to be elevated to the College of Cardinals.” I find, among the active bishops on the USCCB website, Gregory and Shelton J. Fabre, Archbishop-Elect of Louisville; Jerome Feudjio, Bishop of the U.S. Virgin Islands; and three auxiliaries. There are seven retired and fifteen deceased Black bishops, beginning with James August Healy, the only one in the 19^th century. This anomaly interests me: the possibility for institutional power that some Black churchmen have found, despite small numbers. You know I am preoccupied with leadership, and I want to see Black leadership not erased but increased in the 21^st century.

But does the flock always follow the leaders? Leadership resides in many places, not only the chancery. While Pew did not ask a question to uncover that, exactly, it emerges. Brian Fraga in NCR summarizes of some of the information the survey does elicit:

About three-quarters of Black Catholics said opposing racism and sexism, as well as believing in God, are essential to being a Christian. Smaller percentages said regular attendance at religious services (26%), opposing abortion (22%) and avoiding premarital sex (16%) were essential to their Christian faith.

Most Black Catholics — 71% — said abortion should be legal in all or most cases. More than eight in 10 Black Catholics — and 87% of Hispanic Catholics — said that immigrants “strengthen our country because of their hard work and talents.” By comparison, only 56% of white Catholics agreed with that statement.

On homosexuality, the survey found that Black Catholics (78%) are about as likely as white (76%) and Hispanic (84%) Catholics to say that society should accept it. Only 57% of Black Protestants took that position.

In other words, Black Catholics are their own Catholics. I am especially impressed that Black Catholics (75%) are more like Black Protestants (71%) than they are like white Catholics (68%) or Hispanic Catholics (61%) in answer to the question about whether “opposing sexism or discrimination against women” is “essential to their faith.” For 75%, it is.

This may be because their experience and expectations of church are different. The Pew Report itself summarizes this:

While relatively few Black Catholics attend predominantly Black parishes, Black Catholics express some distinctive preferences and expectations about their congregations. For example, they are more likely than White or Hispanic Catholics to say they think it is essential that churches offer a sense of racial affirmation, as well as to say it is essential that churches assist people who need help with bills, housing or food. And Black (40%) and Hispanic Catholics (42%) are more likely than White Catholics (18%) to say it is essential that churches teach practical job and life skills, and that they offer sermons that address political topics such as immigration and race relations.

Maybe Black Catholics are the most Catholic, or the most Christian! I am especially intrigued to relate this information to the “Culture War” issues in the Church, which is what I was going to write about this week: Bishops vs. Vatican II Catholics, to grossly simplify, especially those of us who create worship opportunities beyond the mainstream.

Pratt summarizes the full report: “only 17% of Black Catholics attend a predominantly Black church and a comparable 18% of Black Catholics report a combination of call-and-response, and other expressive forms of worship during Mass.” She goes on to highlight her research discussing “how African American Catholics incorporate music, preaching and Church aesthetics into liturgy in order to create a unique identity as African Americans and as Catholics.” I do note that “Black Catholics who attend Mass at least a few times a year are more likely than their White counterparts to say they attend services where other attendees often or sometimes call out “amen” or other expressions of praise (66% vs. 33%).” Having a diverse congregation matters!

Finally, the bad news. Black Catholics leave the church in greater numbers. Using the larger survey, the Pew report finds that “about half of Black adults who were raised Catholic are still Catholic.” Only 54% compared to 61% of whites and 68% of Hispanics. Is it because they have to travel farther to get to church? Because there are so few Black parishes? Because they don’t hear racism or sexism addressed?

There is much more data, including age cohort information, in these articles and reports. I note that the survey was taken from November 2019 through June 2020, a few months into the pandemic and Zoom masses. I wonder how that liturgical experience has affected Black Catholics. Time for another survey, Pew!