Black Catholics in US are a tiny minority increasingly drawing on immigrants, study finds
Durham, North Carolina, USRNS The congregation at Holy Cross Catholic Church is an anomaly in one sense: a historically Black congregation led by Rev Pius Wekesa, one of just 250 or so Black priests in the United States. Many Black Catholics, a minority within a minority, rarely see a Black priest celebrate Mass at their […]
Poll: America growing more secular by the year
RNS Christmas is just 10 days away, and most Americans will celebrate the birth of Jesus. But a new poll from Pew shows the share of US adults who consider themselves Christian is falling. Only 63 per cent of Americans self-identify as Christian this year, a marked drop from 75 per cent 10 years ago. The declining […]
Amid Black exodus from Catholic Church in US, young Catholics are pushing the church to address racism
RNS Byron Wratee recalls the silence among white Catholic priests after the killing of Trayvon Martin. Since then, he said, he’s made a conscious decision to attend only Catholic parishes that are majority Black. He’s remained critical of the church’s response to racism and racial justice in the aftermath of numerous police killings of Black […]
Despite partisan divides, Pope retains high marks among US Catholics – survey
RNS A new survey finds that Pope Francis retains high levels of support among US Catholics across the board, and most church members either aren’t aware of or have no opinion about recent controversial changes the Pope has made to rules about the Latin Mass. But researchers pointed to persistent partisan divides in how the […]
Trump expanded evangelical support in 2020, but Biden gained with other white Christians – survey
Washington DC, USRNS A new survey reports former President Donald Trump expanded his robust support among white evangelicals in the 2020 election, but President Joe Biden won in part by making significant gains among Catholics and non-evangelical Protestants. That’s according to Pew Research’s new “Behind Biden’s 2020 Victory” study unveiled on Wednesday. The findings, based on […]
Survey: Most Americans know US President Joe Biden is Catholic, far fewer know VP Kamala Harris’ religion
RNS Most Americans know President Joe Biden is Roman Catholic but there are stark differences – especially based on political party – in how they believe he should live out his faith, a new study shows. About six in 10 US adults (58 per cent) recognise Biden is Catholic, including 63 per cent of those who are […]
Four in 10 US Christians plan to attend in-person Easter services – poll
RNS Americans are becoming more confident they can attend in-person religious services but church attendance at Easter services will still be far lower than usual this year, a new Pew Research poll finds. The poll, conducted in early March among 12,055 Americans, finds the percentage of regular attenders who say they actually have attended religious […]
In the US, Black Protestants aren’t least likely to get a vaccine; white evangelicals are
RNS Since before the COVID-19 vaccines hit the market, it has been predicted that Black Americans would choose to be vaccinated at dramatically lower rates than white Americans due to a historic mistrust of the health system. Media stories defined the causes for “vaccine hesitancy” while physicians worried about how to overcome it. Scores of health systems, churches and religious […]
Sight-Seeing: Black history can’t be told without the Bible
Rev NICOLE MARTIN, vice president of church engagement and executive director of trauma healing at American Bible Society, says the Bible has been a source of “healing, hope and refuge from danger” for Black Americans…
Black Americans attend church and pray more often – survey
New York, USAP Black Americans attend church more regularly than Americans overall, and pray more often. Most attend churches that are predominantly Black, yet many would like those congregations to become racially diverse. There is broad respect for Black churches’ historical role in seeking racial equality, coupled with a widespread perception they have lost influence […]