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Life Is Good
A common perspective is that blacks are dissatisfied with life and have little to look forward to in the future. The research provides an entirely different portrait of blacks. They emerge as very positive and upbeat. For instance, almost nine out of ten (85%) describe themselves as "happy," three out of four (72%) think of themselves as "successful" and half (50%) say that they are "financially comfortable."
Even young blacks possess a generally upbeat attitude about their life. A survey among African-American teenagers discovered that more than nine out of ten black teens (94%) described themselves as "excited about my future." While they are not naive about the realities of American culture, relatively few feel burdened by insurmountable racism. Just 9% of black teens say that they feel "oppressed."
The Movement Has Dissipated
Social analysts note that a key to building a movement is for a group to understand how it is being oppressed and to convert its suffering into a compelling cause. Possessing a common experience and perspective was key to the progress achieved by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement in the sixties.
The prevailing stereotype is that the black population of our nation has retained its sense of community and common purpose. The research shows, however, that today most blacks do not feel that they are part of a cohesive community, perhaps due to the absence of a sense of urgency and shared perspective. Three out of every four black adults (74%) and almost two-thirds of black teenagers (62%) concur that race relations in America are getting worse rather than better. (Interestingly, whites have the opposite perspective.) But the probability of blacks banding together today to address such issues is limited by the fact that only one out of every three African-American adults (34%) claims that there is a real sense of unity among blacks these days.
Faith, Front and Center
One of the most remarkable findings of the research is the significance of faith in the lives of black Americans. Reliance on the principles of their Christian faith, more than anything else, explains how this segment has been able to maintain a positive outlook on life in the midst of challenging experiences.
For instance, when asked to identify their goals in life, the top-rated goal - listed as "very desirable" by 94% - was to have a close, personal relationship with God. That goal surpassed even such tangible, culturally acceptable desires as having good health and living comfortably.
The depth of faith among blacks was further demonstrated by the conviction, held by 92%, that in times of crisis they are "absolutely certain" that they can count on God to answer their prayers. A similar percentage of black adults also say that their faith is a source of emotional strength.
A majority of African-American adults even go so far as to maintain that the only reason to live is to know, love and serve God. That is a much higher proportion than is found among either whites or Hispanics. Black adults are also substantially more likely than any other ethnic group to believe that the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches.
Further, half of all black adults directly attribute their ability to handle prejudice and to endure the injustice that they encounter to their focus on their anticipated life after death, based on their faith in Christ.
There were numerous indicators of the centrality of the Christian church in the lives of black adults. Among the most telling findings was the fact that two-thirds of all African-American adults listed pastors as the most important leaders and primary spokespeople for the black community. Among the black pastors interviewed, the most commonly listed church priority was helping people in crisis. Another dominant role of the church was to bring black people together and connect them around a common purpose.
Differences Placed in Context
The profile of blacks' attitudes and their faith commitment stands in stark contrast to the profile of the Caucasian population of the U.S. "Placing the profile of whites and blacks side by side is like looking at people from different sides of the planet," commented George Barna, the president of the organization that conducted the research. "While whites tend to be self-reliant, blacks are more likely to rely on God. Whites persevere on the basis of their drive to achieve; blacks, on the basis of their faith. Whites turn to business leaders and government officials to represent them in the world; blacks support their religious leaders. These two groups have very divergent strategies for interpreting and dealing with virtually every aspect of life."
Barna also noted that some of the stereotypes of blacks will die hard among whites. "For most whites, the perspectives of black people make no sense. Being happy in spite of a very high proportion of single-parent families, feeling financially comfortable in spite of a substantially lower household incomes, and describing themselves as successful despite being shut out of the highest ranks of government and corporate America makes no sense to the average white person. But what most whites don't comprehend is that African-Americans perceive and approach life on the basis of completely different assumptions. This confusion explains why reconciliation efforts have largely failed in our country. Whites are trying to bring about reconciliation based on a white view of reality and within the context of white lifestyles and goals."
The faith focus of blacks also prompted some unexpected comments from the California-based researcher. "The research findings demonstrate why most of the efforts at developing multi-racial congregations or creating multi-ethnic worship services fall flat. These different population groups have relatively little in common. They may believe in the same Jesus, but the ways in which they express their faith and experience their savior are radically different. Frankly, our interviews suggested that most blacks don't have much interest in being part of a multi-racial worship experience. They don't hate whites and they do not dismiss the white spiritual experience - but neither do they feel any need to appropriate it as their own. Their faith culture is unique and is one life element that blacks are neither willing to alter nor abandon."
Research Methodology
These findings are based on a report about blacks entitled "African-Americans and Their Faith," written by George Barna. The report is based upon a series of surveys conducted with African-American adults, African-American teenagers and the pastors of black churches. In total, the report includes data from interviews with more than 1100 black adults, approximately 400 black teenagers and 400 pastors of black Christian churches across the nation. All of the interviews were based on random sampling techniques and were conducted via telephone.
The survey interviews were conducted from the Barna Research Group telephone interviewing facility in Ventura, California. Households were selected randomly through a random-digit dialing procedure (RDD), and each household contacted was screened for the presence of African-Americans. (Because the surveys among adults and teenagers were conducted separately, only one person was interviewed from any given household.) Geographic quotas were used to ensure accurate regional distribution and minor statistical weighting was employed to ensure that the samples reflected national demographic norms. Multiple callbacks were used to increase the probability of selecting a representative sample of both adults and teenagers.
The Barna Research Group, Ltd. is an independent marketing research company located in Ventura, California. Since 1984 it has been studying cultural trends related to values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. This research was jointly funded by The Barna Institute, the Maclellan Foundation and the Barna Research Group. The Barna Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to studying significant dimensions of America's faith activity. Future data releases regarding trends in people's lifestyles, faith and attitudes may be obtained at no cost by subscribing to The Barna Update, a free bi-weekly e-mailing of new data drawn from Barna Research Group studies. To subscribe, enter your e-mail address in the Barna Update subscription field on the upper left-hand portion of any page of this web site.
For additional details on the research, consult the report, "African-Americans and Their Faith," available from the Barna Research Group (www.barna.org).
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