Diversity and Dealignment: Congregational Context and the Weakening of Black Partisan Attachment

This study examines how congregational diversity relates to party identification among Black adults who attend religious services. Although prior research shows that individual religiosity does not differentiate partisan identity among Black Americans as it does among White Americans, scholars have not systematically examined whether organizational contexts of worship predict variation in Black partisanship. Drawing on Ray’s theory of racialized organizations, I analyze nationally representative data from the Faith Among Black Americans Study to test whether congregational racial composition—Black, White, Multiracial, and Other-race congregations—predicts partisan identity among Black religious service attendees. Results show congregational racial composition strongly predicts party identification, net of demographic, religious, socioeconomic, and ideological factors. Compared with Black adults attending Black congregations, those attending White congregations are significantly more likely to identify as Republican. In contrast, those attending Multiracial congregations show increased Republican identification and increased partisan nonidentification. These patterns suggest that White congregational contexts primarily facilitate partisan conversion toward the Republican Party, whereas Multiracial congregational contexts are associated with partisan disengagement and diminished Democratic attachment. Findings clarify a longstanding empirical puzzle in Black politics research by demonstrating that the weak aggregate association between religion and partisanship among Black Americans reflects institutional heterogeneity rather than political irrelevance.