A new survey from the Pew Research Center has found that Black Americans are significantly more religious than the general population or their White counterparts.
A new comprehensive survey conducted by the Pew Research Center reported that up to 59% of black Americans say religion is "very important" to them versus 40% of all U.S. adults who answered the same.
The survey found up to 81% black Americans versus 62% of U.S. adults confirmed their belief in a "God who has the power to control what goes on in the world," while up to 74% of black Americans versus 63% of U.S. adults confirmed their belief in "a God who judges all people," Christian Headlines reported.
The most recent Pew Research Center survey is a comprehensive, in-depth endeavor to explore how black Americans feel about religion. The nationally representative survey had a sample size of 8,660 Black adults aged 18 and above and included citizens who identified as both Black and Hispanic or Black and another race, such as Black and White or Black and Asian.
The survey was conducted through guided, small-group discussions with Black adults of various ages and religious leanings and in-depth interviews with Black clergy to identify their religious experiences in their own words.
The results of the Pew survey that found how black Americans tend to be more religious than whites also showed how 78% of black Americans believe in the prayer that heals illness, versus only 65% of whites who answered the same. Black Americans are also more likely to admit that they pray everyday versus their white counterparts.
In addition, 43% of black Americans admitted to attending church at least weekly or one to two times per month, versus 32% of the rest of the American population who say the same.
The Pew survey on the religious experiences of black Americans saw that about half of black Protestants attend a mostly black church versus 16% who attend a multiracial church and 8% that attend a mostly white church. Black Catholics were found to have mixed results, with 12% attending a mostly black church, 27% attending a multiracial church, and 28% attending a mostly white church.
According to the results of the Pew survey, 51% of black Americans "believe people of faith have a duty to try to convert nonbelievers." 34% of all American adults believe the same. Meanwhile, 54% of black Americans and 32% of white Americans believe it is necessary to believe in God in order to be moral.
As for political affiliations, 10% of black Americans identify as Republican, while 84% identify as Democratic. In terms of age, the Pew survey found that one-fifth of black Americans identify as atheist, agnostic or "nothing in particular," especially in 28% of black Gen Z-ers and 33% of Millenials versus 11% of Baby Boomers and 5% of those who belong in the Silent Generation.
The Pew survey concluded that "Black Americans are more religious than the American public as a whole on a range of measures of religious commitment."
