RPLC Director Todd Ferguson hosted sociologist Jason Shelton to kickstart the Religious and Civic Leaders Gatherings for Fall 2026. The event was held at Texas Southern University Museum and was well attended. The discussion centered on Professor Shelton’s latest book, The Contemporary Black Church, which provides the current state of “the Black Church” while correcting some misconceptions.
Professor Shelton argues that the widely-used “RelTrad” survey lumps all African American congregations into one category of The Black Church, when in fact the Black Church is diverse regarding denomination, liturgy, and theology. He shares statistics showing that, on one hand, membership in Baptist and Methodist congregations is declining. On the other hand, Black Pentecostal and non-denominational congregations are growing in numbers, while Black Catholics have maintained their numbers stable. Furthermore, the church is no longer a “semi-involuntary” institution nor mediates access to education, power, and status, as more and more Black folks are educated and enter the middle class. The middle-class lifestyle complicates life for some Black people (as it is known to do for other demographics) who end up foregoing church. In addition, Professor Shelton observes that educated young and educated Black Christians are frustrated in denominations that reserve leadership to older generations. Thus, they left Baptist and Methodist churches for other Black denominations that worked for them. The younger generation of Black Christians, post-Civil Rights era, is less concerned about liberation theologies and social justice that drew many to Methodist and Baptist congregations. Young Black Christians are growing in multi-racial societies where their rights are observed.
For Shelton, all these factors show diversity as much as they complicate the category of Black Church, and complicate a discussion of politics and voting choice To conclude the discussion, he encouraged denominations losing membership to “skip generations and get young people in leadership,” providing a way forward.
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please email us at BoniukInstitute@rice.edu.