Prof's Book Explores Racial Integration in Religious Organizations
Biola professor of sociology, Brad Christerson, along with fellow sociologists Korie Edwards, of Ohio State University, and Michael Emerson, of the University of Notre Dame and director of the Du Bois Center for the Advanced Study of Religion and Race, researched six multi-ethnic religious organizations and compiled their findings in their new book titled, "Against All Odds: The Struggle for Racial Integration in Religious Organizations."
Drawing on numerous interviews, the book explores the difficulties of maintaining a multi-ethnic religious organization and the costs and rewards for attending an integrated church. The book also discloses discoveries such as "religiously charged ethnocentrism," which is a term coined by the researches that refers to the tendency for churchgoers to describe differences in culture in absolute or transcendent terms. This means that they often view the way their culture does something as superior rather than an issue of preference. This tendency makes compromise much more difficult in a religiously based organization as compared to secular organizations. In addition, the researchers found that people in the minority groups within the organizations they studied had more difficulties finding friendships, causing many to leave.
"Everyone interviewed said that worshipping in a diverse environment is incredibly enriching spiritually and a positive experience," Christerson said. "But for some, this benefit is not enough to keep them committed to their church in the face of the difficulties. However, most of the people we interviewed who had left an integrated church were looking for another multi-ethnic church because they had become committed to the idea that the Kingdom is diverse and therefore the church should not be homogeneous. Overall, the intrinsic benefits of diversity seem to be great enough to allow these organizations to survive despite their difficulties."
The book is scheduled to be published in January.