PATTERNS OF RELIGIOUS MOBILITY AMONG BLACK-AMERICANS

Using data from the National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA) and the General Social Survey (GSS), this study tests hypotheses distilled from two competing perspectives on black religious mobility. First, some analysts during the 1960s predicted that the rise of economic ambition and political militancy among blacks would foster discontent with the “otherworldly” black mainline churches. These researchers projected high levels of switching and burgeoning apostasy. Second, however, there are reasons to anticipate much more stable patterns of black religious affiliation. Recent research stresses that social embeddedness, cultural solidarity, and personal spirituality are more important influences on black religious behavior than are status‐seeking or sociopolitical concerns. Except for rising apostasy, the findings of this study are broadly consistent with the second perspective. Several directions for future research on the religious mobility of black Americans are suggested. Copyright © 1990, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved