Most people are their religion as a safe haven, a place to turn to when the woes of the world seem very dire and extreme. But, what happens when the places where religions are practice—generally called churches—are plagued with the same issues that are prevalent in every other aspect of society? The issues of racism and managed diversity are no strangers to religious interactions. In the article “Managed Diversity; Race, Place, and an Urban Church”, these concepts are examined in relation to religious interactions. The author, Jessica M. Baron, a theologist and sociologist delved into inner-city churches over the span of 18 months to study the manifestation of racism and managed diversity in church communities. The findings were as expected;
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The main culprit, Downtown Church, was placed under extreme scrutiny. This church was over eighty percent white but insisted on being called a diverse church. When asked about diversity in the church, a white member said “I would describe us as diverse. When I first got here, Larry (black member) and Travis (black member) greeted me, and we have been cool ever since. There is so much diversity here.” (2). This sad statement that seeing only one or two black members in a church with a congregation of well over 100 people is a display of diversity begins to lead the reader to question the Caucasian population’s idea of diversity. This is pushed further when statements are added into the article from minorities, saying that there are only “five or six of us (black folk) here”. This huge difference is explained by the pastor as the churches ongoing attempt to integrate more minorities into the church. This strategy is called managed diversity. Managed diversity is described as being a modern day form of racism where minorities are openly encouraged to enter white areas—in this case, churches—and within those areas the minorities are treated in degrading manners, all for the sake of white people being able to say that they do welcome diversity. This contradiction being highlighted in the article appeals to a reader’s sense of logos because it is obvious that a contradiction …show more content…
As the article progresses, the focus shifts from racial discrimination in church environments to socioeconomic discrimination. It is brought to the reader’s attention that many of the predominantly white churches are located in areas that are predominantly white and nonetheless, very wealthy. These areas are generally inaccessible to people of lower classes and income, making adequately diversifying white inner-city churches extremely difficult. A further example of socioeconomic discrimination was brought to the reader’s attention when it was mentioned that there was a mandatory tithing minimum imposed in 58% of white churches, Downtown Church included. Lastly, Baron also included information about working positions held in the church. It was noted that the minority members of the congregation only served on positions such as the usher’s board and kitchen cooks. The more important positions such as deacons were held only by white people. In an interview, the head pastor of the church was asked why this was. In short, his response was that this was the demographic of the church staff makeup because there was a fee imparted to the higher positions. This made the socioeconomic discrimination extremely evident because it is obvious that lower class members in the
The main culprit, Downtown Church, was placed under extreme scrutiny. This church was over eighty percent white but insisted on being called a diverse church. When asked about diversity in the church, a white member said “I would describe us as diverse. When I first got here, Larry (black member) and Travis (black member) greeted me, and we have been cool ever since. There is so much diversity here.” (2). This sad statement that seeing only one or two black members in a church with a congregation of well over 100 people is a display of diversity begins to lead the reader to question the Caucasian population’s idea of diversity. This is pushed further when statements are added into the article from minorities, saying that there are only “five or six of us (black folk) here”. This huge difference is explained by the pastor as the churches ongoing attempt to integrate more minorities into the church. This strategy is called managed diversity. Managed diversity is described as being a modern day form of racism where minorities are openly encouraged to enter white areas—in this case, churches—and within those areas the minorities are treated in degrading manners, all for the sake of white people being able to say that they do welcome diversity. This contradiction being highlighted in the article appeals to a reader’s sense of logos because it is obvious that a contradiction …show more content…
As the article progresses, the focus shifts from racial discrimination in church environments to socioeconomic discrimination. It is brought to the reader’s attention that many of the predominantly white churches are located in areas that are predominantly white and nonetheless, very wealthy. These areas are generally inaccessible to people of lower classes and income, making adequately diversifying white inner-city churches extremely difficult. A further example of socioeconomic discrimination was brought to the reader’s attention when it was mentioned that there was a mandatory tithing minimum imposed in 58% of white churches, Downtown Church included. Lastly, Baron also included information about working positions held in the church. It was noted that the minority members of the congregation only served on positions such as the usher’s board and kitchen cooks. The more important positions such as deacons were held only by white people. In an interview, the head pastor of the church was asked why this was. In short, his response was that this was the demographic of the church staff makeup because there was a fee imparted to the higher positions. This made the socioeconomic discrimination extremely evident because it is obvious that lower class members in the