Study Shows Protestant Pastors See Racial Diversity in the Church as a Goal But Not a Reality MARISSA POSTELL/LIFEWAY for Charisma News
Most Protestant pastors say every church should strive to achieve racial diversity, but few are achieving it.
A new study conducted by Nashville-based Lifeway Research surveyed 1,000 Protestant pastors to learn their views on race and racial reconciliation in the church. The findings reveal some gaps among churches, including the difference between what pastors say they want for their churches as far as racial diversity and what their churches actually look like. There are also differences between what African American pastors are doing to lead their churches toward racial reconciliation and what steps white pastors are taking toward this end.
“For years, pastors have expressed a desire to have more ethnically diverse churches,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “So, every few years we want to check in on the progress they’re making toward achieving that goal.”
The Reality
Churches aren’t often racially diverse. Most Protestant pastors in the United States say their churches are predominantly one racial or ethnic group (76%). There has been some progress over the past five years, however, as more pastors say there is at least some racial or ethnic diversity in their churches today (22%) than said so in a 2017 Lifeway Research study (17%).
There are a few indicators of churches that are most likely to be predominantly one racial or ethnic group. White pastors are more likely than pastors of any other race to say their churches predominantly represent one racial or ethnic group. Furthermore, the more education a pastor has, the more likely that pastor’s congregation is to consist of predominantly one racial or ethnic group. Pastors with master’s degrees are most likely to pastor primarily monoracial churches (82%), with the likelihood decreasing among pastors who have a bachelor’s degree (73%) or no college degree (66%).
And if you’re looking for a multiracial church, you’re most likely to find it in the West, as pastors in the West are most likely to say they lead multiracial churches (36%).
