Black Catholics face cold shoulder in church

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If you have ever thought that African-American Catholics do not exist, are disgruntled or disingenuous, you have had things totally wrong.

According to a recent survey released by the University of Notre Dame, African American Catholics could not be happier.

The survey was the idea of the National Black Catholic Congress, said Darren Davis political science professor at Notre Dame.

“Black Catholics have always viewed as sort of non-genuine or lacking authenticity. The assumption was that African-American Catholics were not that committed to their Catholic identity,” Davis said. “Of course it turned out that those assumptions were incorrect.”

Historically Catholicism has always been viewed as an all-white, conservative religious denomination. However, Davis reports that is not the case; not totally.

“So many people have often approached black Catholics with these huge question marks,” Davis said. “A lot of people do not know that for African-Americans, Catholicism is either the second or third leading denomination.”

For about a year, Davis and Donald B. Pope-Davis, who coauthored the report, worked on the survey. The survey was in the field for about a month — from July to August. With the help of several organizations that represent African-American Catholics, they were able to compile a sampling.

“Black Catholics are hard to find,” Davis said. “There are quite a few African-American Catholic organizations and a substantial number of black Catholics being represented by these organizations.”

Their sampling was a national random sample. Once their database was compiled, respondents were sent a web link to answer over the internet. However, Davis wants to make it clear it was not an internet based survey.

“The internet was just the mechanism used to compile the answers,” he said. Some highlights of the survey include: 78 percent of African-American Catholics say their spiritual needs are being met, while 68.7 percent of white Catholics responded similarly; and 75.7 percent of African-American Catholics say their emotional needs are being met, compared to 60.4 percent of white Catholics. Also, 48.2 percent of African-Americans attend church at least once per week, compared to only 30.4 percent of white Catholics.

However, the survey also found that there are some significant challenges within the Catholic Church, with racism being one of the highlighted significant challenges. About 22.9 percent of the respondents said they believe the Catholic Church is racist against African-Americans.

Jordan Casson agrees. A “cradle catholic” currently in seminary at the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Casson said racism is rampant in the Catholic Church.

“African-American Catholics are not always treated as fair. Our belief and commitment to the church, and what it is to be Catholic, is very strong,” he said. “However, we are still dealing with people who believe we should not be there. We are just as Catholic.”

Casson’s grandmother converted to Catholicism in the 1950s. She wanted to send her kids to Catholics school and at that time you could not unless you were catholic. That is mostly true for the northern states. Someone has to be catholic, particularly the mom or grandmother.

He said part of the reason African-American Catholics ban together is due to the racism.

“It’s what brings black Catholic churches together to survive. And in the American context, blacks are always fighting for their rights.”

Casson, who is very well versed in Catholic history, said it was the King assassination that shifted the paradigm for most African-American Catholics. He said when King got killed African American Catholics came together under one banner. They believed they deserved to be Catholics and have all the same rights.

“Catholics are very quiet people and go with the flow, so to have a push on a united front was scary to the church in America. But blacks were mad about King. They identified with King even though he was a Baptist preacher.”

Of the respondents, 25.9 percent commented that they have experienced other parishioners avoiding them during a mass service and considered those actions to be racist. And 23.6 percent said “fellow parishioners reluctantly shake their hands.”

Loren Aguillard can relate to these findings. A native of New Orleans, she said she has found that African-American Catholic churches are friendlier. And she is not sure why.

“I am not sure if culturally black people are friendlier, or if whites are a little more reserved but sometimes it comes off as standoffish. I am sure some people are racist, but I try not to assume the worse.”

Now a pharmacy school student at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA, Aguillard said the black Catholic churches she has attended, like in Atlanta, have been more inclusive. During the welcome or moments in the service where everyone held hands, the person next to you in a white Catholics Church may not or would hesitate.

She said overall cultural differences may have something to do with the differences.
“Catholic mass is very traditional and structured, but when you go to a black Catholic church it incorporates different things,” she said. “Black Catholic churches weave elements of black culture into mass. The choir is livelier and a bigger part of mass than at a white catholic church.”

Overall, Aguillard is pretty happy when she attends Catholic mass, even though she has enjoyed the black churches a little more.

“Of course there are things we do not like and have issues with. And there are a lot of things that I see that could be changed and outdated,” she said. “But I focus on getting the positive stuff out of it. My overall experience is pretty positive so the negative things have not influenced me enough to where I am going to stop being Catholic.”

Davis believes ultimately the survey is a very positive and reaffirming study for black religiosity.

“The survey shows that African-American Catholics’ sense of identity is actually quite strong and their sense of engagement is actually quite strong,” he said. “That is an important finding and provides broader implications for the African-American community. Our faith and beliefs transcend denominational beliefs. This gives a greater unity, uniformity, coherence within our community.”

Casson does not agree.

He said what the survey really does is confirm what African-American Catholics already know and have always known — that they love Jesus, they love the saints and their churches in their communities.

As for a new conversation or discourse, nothing will change.

“Most white people are ignorant and will never get it. Those who have the power and want to keep the church the way it always has been are not going to get it and will never,” he said. “So, to me it is a nice job at making the argument that black Catholics real.”

Aguillard is not sure. While she found the results of the survey interesting, it only caused more questions for her.

“A survey that would include people who were Catholic and practicing versus those who were raised Catholic and no longer practicing would bring about a whole other form of data, I think,” she said.