Chapter Six — 2012 Stats — Attending a Congregation that is Predominantly the Same Ethnicity as Your Own

The last chapter of Stories From the Spreadsheet looked at ethnicity as a percentage of membership. This chapter looks at the percentages of United Methodists that attend a congregation which is predominantly of the same ethnicity as they are . Note that for these results “predominantly” is defined as 50% or more.  Please remember that this is all based upon what congregations reported. Since most congregations don’t ask about a person’s ethnic identity, in many cases the reported figures may be an estimate made by the person filling in the statistics sheet.  So while reality is probably somewhat different, these figures should give us a pretty good ball-park figure. 

A few things that I thought were interesting:

• Compared to 2010 statistics there has been a tiny decline in the percentage of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders that attend a congregation which is predominantly of the same ethnicity as they are. There has been a tiny increase for Asian Americans, and Euro-American percentages have stayed the same. However, all of these changes are probably not large enough to be statistically significant. You can see the 2010 breakdown at http://spreadsheetstories.blogspot.com/2012/06/chapter-four.html

 • African American United Methodists in the Western Jurisdiction are much less likely to attend a predominantly African American congregation than are African American United Methodists in any other jurisdiction. 

• In every jurisdiction Hispanic Americans are more likely to attend a predominantly non-Hispanic congregation than a predominantly Hispanic congregation.

• Only in the Western Jurisdiction are Pacific Islander United Methodists more likely to attend a predominantly Pacific Islander congregation than a predominantly non-Pacific Islander congregation.

• Only in the Southeastern Jurisdiction are Native American United Methodists more likely to attend a predominantly Native American congregation than a predominantly non-Native American congregation.

• No matter where they live, it is highly unlikely that a Euro American United Methodist will belong to a congregation that is predominantly non-Euro American.

Among all U.S. Congregations

85.1% of African American United Methodists attended predominantly African American congregations

66.2% of Asian American United Methodists attended predominantly Asian American congregations

34% of Hispanic American United Methodists attended predominantly Hispanic American congregations

44.8% of Native American United Methodists attended predominantly Native American congregations

37.5% of Pacific Islander United Methodists attended predominantly Pacific Islander congregations

99.7% of Euro American United Methodists attend predominantly Euro American congregations

In the Northeastern Jurisdiction

84.3% of African American United Methodists attended predominantly African American congregations

74.3% of Asian American United Methodists attended predominantly Asian American congregations

44.4% of Hispanic American United Methodists attended predominantly Hispanic American congregations

27.9% of Native American United Methodists attended predominantly Native American congregations

0% of Pacific Islander United Methodists attended predominantly Pacific Islander congregations

99.5% of Euro American United Methodists attend predominantly Euro American congregations

In the Southeastern Jurisdiction

89.3% of African American United Methodists attended predominantly African American congregations

51.2% of Asian American United Methodists attended predominantly Asian American congregations

18.1% of Hispanic American United Methodists attended predominantly Hispanic American congregations

65.7% of Native American United Methodists attended predominantly Native American congregations

0% of Pacific Islander United Methodists attended predominantly Pacific Islander congregations

99.9% of Euro American United Methodists attend predominantly Euro American congregations

In the South Central Jurisdiction

86.2% of African American United Methodists attended predominantly African American congregations

49.1% of Asian American United Methodists attended predominantly Asian American congregations

42.1% of Hispanic American United Methodists attended predominantly Hispanic American congregations

43.7% of Native American United Methodists attended predominantly Native American congregations

16.3% of Pacific Islander United Methodists attended predominantly Pacific Islander congregations

99.8% of Euro American United Methodists attend predominantly Euro American congregations

In the Western Jurisdiction

53.7% of African American United Methodists attended predominantly African American congregations

74.4% of Asian American United Methodists attended predominantly Asian American congregations

18.8% of Hispanic American United Methodists attended predominantly Hispanic American congregations

20% of Native American United Methodists attended predominantly Native American congregations

55.7% of Pacific Islander United Methodists attended predominantly Pacific Islander congregations

97.7% of Euro American United Methodists attend predominantly Euro American congregations

In the North Central Jurisdiction

73.4% of African American United Methodists attended predominantly African American congregations

61.2% of Asian American United Methodists attended predominantly Asian American congregations

33.4% of Hispanic American United Methodists attended predominantly Hispanic American congregations

30.7% of Native American United Methodists attended predominantly Native American congregations

0% of Pacific Islander United Methodists attended predominantly Pacific Islander congregations

99.9% of Euro American United Methodists attend predominantly Euro American congregations

The statistical data included herein were provided at no charge by the General Council on Finance and Administration of The United Methodist Church (GCFA) and may be obtained directly from GCFA, PO Box 340020, Nashville, TN 37203-0029. This data is proprietary and is owned by GCFA and may not be used in any commercial or exploitative way, to make a financial profit, or in a manner that defames the United Methodist denomination or its agencies or organizations. GCFA does not endorse any particular use of the data or accept responsibility for its interpretation or analysis by another.