c. 2004 Religion News Service

Survey: Blacks Practice Religion More Than Other Groups

(RNS) Black Americans are the most likely to participate in religious activities like prayer, Bible reading and worship attendance, compared to other racial and ethnic groups, a survey shows.

The Barna Group, a Ventura, Calif.-based consulting firm, found that 91 percent of blacks said they prayed to God in the previous week, compared to 86 percent of Hispanics, 81 percent of whites and 46 percent of Asians.

The results of the research, based on surveys of 2,632 adults in January and May, were released Tuesday (Aug. 10).

Fifty-nine percent of blacks said they had read the Bible in the previous week, compared to 39 percent of Hispanics, 36 percent of whites and 20 percent of Asians.

As for religious service attendance, 48 percent of blacks said they had attended a worship service in the previous week, compared to 41 percent of whites, 38 percent of Hispanics, and 23 percent of Asians.

African-Americans also were the mostly likely to strongly agree that the Bible is totally accurate (57 percent) and to strongly disagree that Jesus sinned while on Earth (49 percent).

Asians were most likely to be in the atheist/agnostic category (20 percent) and aligned with a non-Christian faith group (45 percent).

White adults did not stand out as either the highest or lowest group in any of the religious behaviors that were tested. In general, Hispanics’ religious views were similar to those of whites. But Hispanics were more likely than either blacks or whites to reject the idea that the Holy Spirit is a living presence.

Researcher George Barna, founder of the Barna Group, said the findings are consistent with a research project he recently completed on the relations between black churches and the lives of African-Americans.

“Upon dissecting the role of faith in the lives of black Americans, we discovered that their faith in Christ has empowered millions of blacks to overcome challenges that might otherwise have been debilitating,” he said in a statement. “The local church has been a major source of strength and directive leadership for the black community.”

The research has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points for the overall sample. The margin of error related to the subgroups is plus or minus 2.4 percentage for whites; 5.6 percentage points for blacks; 5.4 percentage points for Hispanics; and 11.2 percentage points for Asians.

Messianic Pastor Sides With Jews in Blasting Presbyterian Divestment

(RNS) A controversial messianic Jewish congregation in the Presbyterian Church (USA) has joined Jewish groups in denouncing the church’s plans to explore divesting in companies doing business in Israel.

Avodat Yisrael, a small, church-sponsored congregation in suburban Philadelphia that looks and feels like a synagogue, said recent church statements on Israel did not put equal pressure on Palestinians.

“Punitive measures such as selected divestment can only serve to weaken the Israeli economy, threatening the well-being of Israelis and Palestinians alike,” said the church’s spiritual leader, Andrew Sparks, in a statement released Monday (Aug. 9).

In some ways, Sparks is an unlikely ally for Jewish groups who have denounced his church and the $260,000 in start-up funds it received from church agencies. Critics say the congregation is a covert and offensive attempt to convert Jews to Christianity.

Delegates to the church’s General Assembly in Richmond, Va., voted last month to continue national funding for similar projects _ a move that has prompted some Jews to break off dialogue with the church.

Sparks did not address the furor surrounding his congregation in his statement. He said likening the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to apartheid in South Africa is unhelpful.

“The implication of apartheid, intended or not, obscures the complexity of the conflict and hinders the possibility for creative ethical and socially engaged responses to this multifaceted situation,” he said.

Some Presbyterians have likened the Israeli occupation to South African apartheid, but church leaders say that is not the official position of the denomination.

Sparks called for the church to “halt” its exploration of divestment, which was approved by the General Assembly delegates. A final decision on divestment is scheduled for next March.

_ Kevin Eckstrom

GOP Taps Former Christian Music Leader for Convention Entertainment

(RNS) The Republican National Committee has hired the former head of the Gospel Music Association to oversee entertainment during the party’s upcoming convention in New York City, the New York Times reported.

Frank Breeden, who headed the GMA from 1997 to 2003, was widely credited for helping advance Christian music during his tenure. He told The Times he hopes to bring country, gospel and Broadway music to the GOP convention.

“Entertainment plays more of a prominent role in marketing messages today than ever before,” he said. “Just like Cadillac uses Led Zeppelin to market its ideas.”

Breeden admitted most entertainers who engage in politics tend to support Democratic nominee John Kerry. Some actors and singers have told him they support President Bush, he said, but are reluctant to do so publicly out of fear that it may damage their careers.

“For whatever reason, on the Democratic side of things, the celebrities who have an affinity with that party tend to be more activist and tend to get more headlines,” he said.

Catholic Mass Becomes Soccer Club’s Goal

LONDON (RNS) Inspired by an idea from one of Britain’s most famous television cooks, a soccer club will hold its first on-the-field Roman Catholic Mass after a match.

The Mass will be celebrated Saturday (Aug. 14) on the grounds of Norwich City football club to mark its promotion to the Premiership, the top division of English soccer, referred to as “football” in Great Britain.

Celebrating the Mass will be the club’s unofficial Catholic chaplain, the Rev. Tony McSweeney, a parish priest at St. George’s church in Norwich.

The idea came from one of Britain’s best-known cooking writers and TV chefs, Delia Smith, a staunch Catholic who with her husband is the club’s majority shareholder.

The Mass will be celebrated after the club’s opening match against Crystal Palace. The Daily Telegraph quoted one fan as saying, “If we lose to Palace, the thanksgiving service could be more like a wake.”

McSweeney told RNS that three or four of the team’s players are practicing Catholics, as are some of the staff behind the scenes.

While the priest is not that much of a soccer fan, he said there are many Catholics among the club’s fans, many of whom are known to go on to the city’s Catholic cathedral for Mass after a game.

It will apparently be the first time in the club’s 102-year history that a religious service will have been held at the ground, though the club’s centenary was marked by a service in the city’s Anglican cathedral.

_ Robert Nowell

Quote of the Day: U.S. Rep David Obey, D-Wis.

(RNS) “I agree with my church that abortion in most cases is wrong. My wife and I lost two children, one immediately after birth and one shortly before birth. We do not need to be reminded of the preciousness of life; we are only too acutely aware of it.”

_ U.S. Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., writing in America magazine about his support of abortion rights _ despite his personal opposition to abortion _ which has prompted threats of denied Communion from some Catholic bishops.

MO/PH END RNS