Quantcast

How the Church Helps Black Men Flourish in America

Highlights

  1. Most African American men are not poor, out of work, or destined to spend time in prison. Post This
  2. Why do some black men flourish while others struggle? One answer is faith. Post This

From Barack Obama to Rand Paul, Ta-Nehisi Coates to Jason Riley: Across the ideological spectrum, scholars, pundits, and politicians seem to agree that black men are floundering. As the president observed in 2014, “by almost every measure, the group that is facing some of the most severe challenges in the 21st century in this country are boys and young men of color.”

In some ways, Obama is right. Rates of poverty, unemployment, and incarceration are higher among black men than among white men. Young African Americans are also far more likely than young white men to become victims of violent crime. But the conversation about black men often glosses over the fact that most African American men are not poor, out of work, or destined to spend time in prison.

Why do some black men flourish while others struggle? One answer is faith. African American men attend church at rates notably above the national average: 37 percent of those aged 18 to 60 attend several times a month or more, compared to 30 percent of non-black men, according to the 2008-2014 General Social Survey. And compared to their less religious peers, these 6 million or so black men are significantly more likely to thrive. Our new book, Soul Mates: Religion, Sex, Love and Marriage Among African Americans and Latinos, shows they are more likely to be working, avoid crime and incarceration, and get married.

Continue reading at The Atlantic . . .

Never Miss an Article
Subscribe now
Never Miss an Article
Subscribe now
Sign up for our mailing list to receive ongoing updates from IFS.
Join The IFS Mailing List

Contact

Interested in learning more about the work of the Institute for Family Studies? Please feel free to contact us by using your preferred method detailed below.
 

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 1502
Charlottesville, VA 22902

(434) 260-1048

info@ifstudies.org

Media Inquiries

For media inquiries, contact Chris Bullivant (chris@ifstudies.org).

We encourage members of the media interested in learning more about the people and projects behind the work of the Institute for Family Studies to get started by perusing our "Media Kit" materials.

Media Kit

Wait, Don't Leave!

Before you go, consider subscribing to our weekly emails so we can keep you updated with latest insights, articles, and reports.

Before you go, consider subscribing to IFS so we can keep you updated with news, articles, and reports.

Thank You!

We’ll keep you up to date with the latest from our research and articles.

Sign Up
The latest on marriage and family delivered straight to your inbox
Thank You
You’re signed up
No thanks, continue reading