A study by Lifeway Research shows that nearly half of churchgoers say their church needs to become more ethnically diverse, and young people appear to be leading the charge.
In a survey of American churchgoers, 49% say their church needs to become more ethnically diverse, including 18% who strongly agree. At the same time, nearly 7 in 10 say their church is doing enough to be ethnically diverse (69%).
Age and gender are also factors in a person’s perception of ethnic diversity in the church. The youngest adult churchgoers—those age 18-34 (63%) and 35-49 (63%)—are more likely than those 50-64 (46%) and over 65 (33%) to agree their church needs to become more ethnically diverse. And females (65%) are less likely than males (73%) to say their church is doing enough to be ethnically diverse.
Younger pastors—18-44 (47%) and 45-54 (47%)—and those in the West (54%) are among the most likely to say that in the last week they’ve had a meal with a small group that included someone of a different ethnicity. Pastors with no college degree (29%) and pastors of churches with attendance fewer than 50 (32%) are the least likely to say they’ve done so in the last week. And pastors of the smallest churches (11%), African American pastors (15%) and mainline pastors (10%) are the most likely to say it’s been more than a year since they’ve had dinner with someone of a different ethnicity in a small group setting.