Posted on 03/06/2002 11:55:55 AM PST by Quester
In response to a previous, though now deleted, thread which essentially asked the question - "Why are African Americans flocking to Embrace Islam?", I thought that some perspective was in order.As an African-American christian, my experience with Islam in the African-American community has led me to conclude that the Islamic movement in the African-American community is a fringe movement. The originator of the previous thread presented a figure of 1 million to respresent the numbers of African-Americans within the American Islamic movement. Out of a current 35 million African-Americans, that number is a small fraction.
Per my experience, the religious standard in the African-American community is Protestant Christianity. To bolster my impressions, I looked up the following information from the Barna Research group which presents the following survey-derived information in regard to African-American Christian Faith and Practice.
You have opened the research archive relating to the latest findings on African Americans and their faith. The statistics and analysis in this archive come from national surveys conducted by Barna Research.
For more information about African Americans, be sure to check out the related resources and news releases featured on this page. Also, watch for new information to be added to this archive in the months to come.
Activities
African Americans are more likely than whites to report that they have prayed to God during the past 7 days. 93% of African Americans reported praying compared to 80% of white adults nationwide. (2001)
African Americans are significantly more likely than are whites to have read from their Bible in the past 7 days (52% to 35%, respectively). (2001)
43% of African Americans attend church on a given Sunday, which is similar to the rate of church attendance among whites (42%). (2001)
Faith
African Americans are approximately twice as likely as are whites to report that they are "searching for meaning and purpose in life” (58% to 28%, respectively). (2001)
African Americans are more likely than average to say that they are “a born again Christians.” A belief held by 57% of African Americans compared to 39% of adults nationwide. (2001)
21% of the African American population is unchurched, compared to 32% of whites. (1998)
Compared to 66% of whites, 83% of blacks say their religious faith is very important in their lives. (2001)
46% feel that they have a responsibility to tell other people about thier religious beliefs; 33% of whites feel the same way. (2001)
45% of black adults are born again Christians.(2001)
African-American adults are less likely than Hispanics or whites to contend that moral truth is absolute. In total, 10% of African-Americans believe moral truth is absolute, compared to 15% of Hispanics and 26% of whites. (2001) (For more information about the held perspectives on moral truth, see the February 12, 2002 Press Release article titled "Americans Are Most Likely to Base Truth on Feelings."
Beliefs about God
When asked what they believe about God, African Americans indicated the following: (2001)
84% believe that God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect creator who rules the world today.
5% believe that God is a higher state of consciousness that a person may reach.
3% believe that God is the total realization of persona human potential.
3% believe that everyone is God.
2% believe that there are many different Gods, each with different power and authority.
1% believe that there is no such thing as God.
Beliefs about life after death
Among those who have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still relevant in their lives today, they were asked what they thought would happen after they died. African Americans answered as follows: (2001)
61% believe that they will go to Heaven because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.
18% do not know what will happen when they die.
8% believe that they will go to Heaven because they are a good person.
4% believe they will go to Heaven because God loves all people and will not let them perish.
5% believe that they will go to Heaven because they have tried to obey the 10 commandments.
The Church
The typical Sunday service of blacks is 70% longer than that attended by whites. (1997)
The typical black church has an average attendance that is about 50% greater than that of the typical white church. (1997)
63% say the pastors of black churches are the most important leaders in the African-American community (1996)
Self Descriptions
compared to 26% of whites, 46% of African Americans report that they are "trying to find a few good friends" (2001)
75% are "concerned about the future" (2001)
half (51%) are "personally struggling with finances"(2001)
71% are "concerned about the moral condition of the nation" (2001)
32% are "stressed out" (2001)
using a DUMB, REVISIONIST & "PC" term like "neo-confederate" marks you as an "empty-head". (just thought you'd want to know.)
there are however MILLIONS of proud descendants of CSA vets.
call me PALEO-Confederate & i'll happily agree.
free dixie,sw
Correction. I enjoyed your revisionist historical piece of crap. Spain was a Catholic Christian country before Islamic hordes from north africa (moors) invaded and conquered the vast majority of the country. It took Spain 700 years to kick the moors (muslims) out and resecure a Catholic country. I also can't understand why African Americans would convert to islam given the history of muslim slave traders who were happy to trade primarily africans, but also white europeans they captured in acts of piracy.
You need to understand history a little bit better, bud. And I prefer my comment with a little pork vs. salt, thank you.
"How Childish
Besides it's neener neener neener LOL"
Dang, I just caint spell!
Doing great. P and I just went grocery shopping and enjoying this fine SUNNY and RAIN FREE day :-)
According to what I read in an article at the left-wing alternet news site, blacks registering Republican went way up between 2000 and 2004. Seems it may have made a difference in Ohio and Florida in the 2004 election.
See some excerpts from the alternet article below.
http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/23690
(excerpts:
There are slight rumblings of a shift. The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington D.C. based black political research institute, found that between 2000 and 2004 the percent of blacks that registered Democrat dropped 11 percent. One in three young (under age 35) blacks said they were independents. The percentage of blacks registered as Republican tripled. The not-insignificant Republican increase and the Democratic slide among blacks have had major political consequences.
In Florida, a record black vote turnout in Democratic precincts in 2000 nearly tipped the election to Al Gore. In 2004 it was exactly the reverse. A tepid black Democratic turnout, combined with the 13 percent of the black votes Bush received, double what he got in 2000, helped him win Florida outright and avoid a repeat of the election debacle of 2000.
Republican gains among blacks were even more dramatic in Ohio, where Bush garnered nearly 20 percent of the black vote. To put that in perspective, if Bush in 2004 had only gotten the same proportion of the Ohio black vote as he did in 2000, his margin of victory over Democratic presidential contender John Kerry would have narrowed from 118,000 votes to 25,000 votes. Given the large number of provisional ballots filed in Ohio, the Democrats almost certainly would have challenged the election certification. It would have been Florida 2000 all over again.
The spectacular emergence of black evangelicals as a potent political force also has been a boon to the GOP, and a nightmare for Democrats. If Republicans play their anti-gay marriage and anti-abortion cards right, and Bush delivers on his African AIDS funding initiative, they'll get even more black evangelical votes in the 2006 elections.
The fear and loathing many blacks still have of Bush's policies guarantee the Democrats a winning hand in the hard fought game for black voters, for now. But Republicans think they can do something that was unthinkable a scant four years, and that's break the Democrats' stranglehold on the black vote.
I sure hope so. I wouldn't want a religion that justifies bad actions under "Islam" to flourish in America.
Gee, I just figure it's a way to get a "two-fer" when it comes to playing the victim. Black and muslim--surely the "most opressed" segment of society in their way of thinking.
Gee, I wonder how these guys would feel if they knew a good chunk of the profits made from the CD sales actually come from Suburban white kids who also listen to their stuff?
A college friend of mine married a fellow student who just happened to be here from South Africa to play tennis. They have lived in the Dallas area ever since graduation several years ago. If he were to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, wouldn't that make him an African American in THE truest sense of the term? Er, I wonder how well it would go over with folks if he went around insisting on being called such. The good Reverends Al and Jesse would surely frown on that sort of thing, to say the least, never mind that this guy is more African than either of them could ever pretend to be. Interesting.
Duh, I forgot to mention that the guy is blond-haired and blue-eyed. Total whitey. A white African American.
Amen to that...
What brought you to join FR today and how did you find your way to this old thread?
You mean the freedom to be a slave to allah/islime?
PS.. your "prophet"(Pork Gravy be on him) was a murderous child molesting illiterate Liar!
You look up to him and believe his every word. Why would anyone who knows these facts even give you ANY benefit of doubt!
My oldest son now 35 found Islam in the US army while stationed in Germany.
He is very gregarious, loved rap music and could dance better than Michael Jackson...in short, the black brothers loved him.
When he came out he went to work for a muslim brother he met while selling commercial time for the regional cable supplier.
He's been a muslim since the 1st gulf war.
In his world, a lot of African-Americans in the army are embracing Islam.
Don't know if it's true.
I think it is primarily due to racial hatred against caucasians.
a false prophet at that... it says in virtually every other religious text that false prophets and followers of the moon god are children of Satan..
darn, not six million, only 2.8 million.. oh well, it makes the nasty work of the final crusade when it comes much easier.....
later pingout.
If he were to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, wouldn't that make him an African American in THE truest sense of the term?
free dixie,sw
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