Editor's note: This week, The Tidings presents the last in a four-part series on the experience and impact of African-Americans in the Archdiocese, with a focus African-American youth.
In many Catholic parishes across the country, the number of active African-American participants are dropping in large numbers. It is particularly true among African-American teens and young adults who many say are leaving for other Christian denominations they find more relevant to their lives.
Some dioceses, such as Chicago and Saginaw (Michigan, which experienced an 83 percent drop in African-American members over 10 years), are looking for ways to stop the exodus. But in other cities where the immigrant population is rapidly expanding, the loss of African-Americans is virtually unnoticed.
In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the number of African-American Catholics hovers at approximately 25,000. But current trends indicate that these numbers will fall as young African-Americans leave the church.
Then and now
There are no exact figures on young blacks leaving the church "because studies done on young people leaving the church have not included a lot of black people," said Sister of Social Service Eva Lumas, who teaches at the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley.
For many older African-Americans raised in the Catholic Church, there was little contact with religions other than their own. Sister Lumas noted that because of segregation, her whole world as a child revolved around her parish and she never set foot in a Protestant church.
But that has changed, as young people today are constantly exposed through media to many voices and images outside the church, and are aware they have choices in how and when to worship.
"This generation really hungers for a church that gives them principles to live by and a community to help them live these principles," said Sister Lumas. "Many of our churches are not responding. They are very poor in the use of pastoral counseling and youth and young adult ministries, while Protestant churches have made excellent use of these areas and are facilitating growth in ways the Catholic church has not instilled effectively."
Chandra Johnson, director of African-American student ministry at Notre Dame University, notes that some other Christian religions are doing a much better job than the Catholic Church at incorporating culturally relevant messages and images into their services.
"I believe black Catholics have to reinvision their faith and see themselves in the very making of who the church is," says Johnson. "I don't think it's going to get any better unless [the church] incorporates different catechesis that brings black people into the grandeur of the church."
Johnson says she sees African-American young adults leaving the church in large numbers, and has found it difficult to find people who genuinely care. She believes that for better or worse, it is a matter of simple economics.
"Not that blacks don't contribute [financially] to the church but we're such a small number and that equals smaller contributions [than other groups]," she says. "Out of courtesy you find ways to honor this group but the resources aren't going to be put here."
Other organizations such as Pax Christi point to the "quiet" racism inherent in some areas of the church as an alienating factor for young African-Americans who now have more religious options than ever.
Today Pax Christi holds workshops geared toward white Catholics on the issue of racism, looking at understanding race from a position of power and privilege.
"We cannot eradicate racism without knowing what the problem is," says Cathleen Crayton who serves on the Southern California council of Pax Christi. "We must try to deal with the whole construct of race."
Historically, the church is a place where African-Americans often found refuge from the daily trials of discrimination. Thus, if they are not finding a culturally welcoming atmosphere within their parishes, many young African-Americans know they can find it elsewhere and aren't bound by family traditions as their parents many have been.
"When you have access to the larger world and when you hear compelling testimony from that world, then you make choices," said sister Lumas. "Some make choices to go elsewhere simply because it speaks to their whole person and not just one aspect of their lives."
Doing something right
Sixteen-year-old Sherena Young doesn't depend on her parents to get her to church or the desire to see her friends to make her want to go. She attends regularly because she loves what she gets from her church.
Sherena, who just finished her junior year at Immaculate Heart High School and attends Holy Name of Jesus Church in Los Angeles, says she wasn't always an avid churchgoer until the parish's youth programs caught her interest.
"My spirituality has grown because of the youth ministry. Now I go to church because I want to, not because my parents tell me to," she says. "I feel closer to God and feel welcomed in church."
Sherena knows her church makes a special effort to reach out to young African-Americans noting, "The sermons at my high school are very different. Sometimes it's hard to get used to accepting others way of worshiping."
Holy Name of Jesus Church is one of the few historically African-American Catholic parishes in Los Angeles with an African-American pastor, Jesuit Father Gregory Chisholm. The church incorporates African-American culture and history into the liturgies and maintains a large and active parish.
Sharon Johnson, coordinator of the church's youth ministry program, says that "a lot of the ritual of Catholicism is African, borrowed from the first culture and it is evident in Catholic Mass," and she strives to bring these roots alive to the young people in her program.
"Teens and young adults are searching, trying to figure out who they are," she says. "And if they are feeling that what's important to them deep down is not getting addressed, they are going to leave. The old African adage that 'It takes a village to raise a child' is true."
Johnson tells her students that to initiate change in any institution they have to participate. "Just leaving won't make any difference," she tells them.
Sixteen-year-old Johnny Nwagwu, who is very active in the Holy Name of Jesus youth ministry, says he appreciates the fact that "all the priests in my church are black so I don't have to go far for role models and cultural relevance."
Johnny, who is going into his senior year at Loyola High School, notes that having someone in a position of power in the church who "looks like you" helps young people to relate and creates a connection that isn't there in other churches.
"When our priest talks, you want to listen," he says. "When I go to college, I will look for a church that welcomes me and involves my culture. Culture and religion have to be almost one. When culture is involved, it makes you feel close to God." |