Black Americans attend church, pray more often than US population overall: poll

Black Americans attend church, and pray more often than the U.S. population overall, according to a study from Pew Research Center.

The survey found that 90 percent of Black adults were more likely to believe in God or a higher power, compared with 72 percent of the U.S. general population. Fifty-four percent of  Black Americans said they prayed at least a few times a month, compared to 28 percent of the general population.

The poll also found that Black Americans are also more often to report that they attend religious services regularly than the broader population.

The findings came as part of Pew’s large-scale survey on religion among Black Americans. It’s the first large-scale survey specifically on this topic.

Among its findings, the survey found that 66 percent of Black Americans are Protestant, while 6 percent are Catholic and 3 percent identify with other Christian faiths. Another 3 percent belong to other non-Christian faiths like Islam.

However, 21 percent of Black Americans don’t identify with any religion.

Sixty percent of Black adults surveyed said they attended religious services at places where most or all of the other attendees, as well s clergy, are also Black. By comparison, 25 percent attended places with multiracial congregations, and 13 percent belong to congregations that are predominately White or another race.

The survey also found that roughly three-quarters of Black Americans say that Black churches play “some” role in advancing racial equality. However, 33 percent of respondents say that Black congregations should preserve a more traditional character.

The poll sampled 13, 234 adults aged 18 years old and older overall, including 8,660 Black adults. It has a margin of error of +/- 1.5 percent.