Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 8 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 23 years, 10 months ago by
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- I'm not white, but my home church would be considered multi-ethnic with an Anglo majority. Everyone gets along like family, which in a sense is what we are. Latinos, Jamaicans, Koreans, Taiwanese, African Americans, Japanese, white folks, and many others can be found sitting next to each other on any given sunday morning. However, I have seen some churches who may fall in such a category. The trouble is that their congregations are predominantly Anglo and are located in predominantly Anglo neighborhoods, so they are altogether unaware of what issues minorities face. When they think of ministering to Latinos, they think of financing missions trips to Honduras and not setting up a Spanish language service for the people in their own city.
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Name : Dan27281, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : L.A., State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : student/dishwasher, Social class : Lower middle class,How is it that white Christians can worship, and never act, act, act on racism and injustices? They and their respective clergy know that Sunday services are the most racial time of the week. How do white Christians act on other biblical precepts, but skirt racism as it relates to blacks?User Detail :
Name : Dee L., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 45, City : Miami, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : Minister, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,I can hear your frustration. I'm frustrated, too, because it seems that no matter what is done, the changes - attitude, conditions, socioeconomic levels - are so incrementally small. But I will say that from my encounters, I believe that most people are not racist. What people are is comfortable with what is similar to them and uncomfortable with what is different. It's not the color of our skin that separate our races. It is the differences in our cultures. Because of that, black and white people often don't feel comfortable around each other. Once I attended a Baptist service in a black neighborhood in Cleveland. (Cleveland is still very segregated.) While we were received very kindly, and thanked for coming to the service, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable and out of place. The service was very different from what I was used to and the people acted much differently. I felt the same way when I attended a sitting at a Buddhist Zendo recently. The cultures were entirely different and the people behaved in alien ways. What's the solution? People either have to extend outside of their comfort zones (which, based on history, most people don't seem to do, even with religion as a motivator) or America has to again act as a melting pot, and we have to become more similar, so that we don't feel as uncomfortable as we do today with each other and come together more. I wish it were easier. I wish that we could both set down this burden. But it will take time and continued changes, and religion, I think, will only play a part.User Detail :
Name : John-W29166, Gender : M, Religion : Catholic, Age : 33, City : Cleveland, State : OH Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,Why is it always the responsibility of whites to fight racism? Racist attitudes are far from exclusive to whites. While I agree that white churches should and could work harder on racial harmony, so should every other place of worship, Christian or otherwise.User Detail :
Name : Jason B., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 27, City : Quad-Cities, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : sales, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Some churches (like mine) have both whites and blacks. On the other hand, my aged grandfather would be horrified at blacks in his church. This is not because of church teaching, but culture, which in his case takes precedence.User Detail :
Name : Saxifrage28173, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 36, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,It sounds like you have had some bad experiences with some white folks calling themselves Christians. I'm sorry that happened to you. However, I notice that you are a minister, and so surely you realize that all of us are sinners--even Christians! The thing is, it's a generalization that all white Christians act in a racist fashion. OUt here in California, we have many Christian churches with very diverse congregations. Just yesterday, I visited a church called Abundant Life Christian Fellowship. We were so excited to see the ethnic diversity represented in the church membership--white, black, Asian, Latino, Filipino. And everyone was very loving to each other, hugging and saying God bless you when it was time to meet and greet each other. I know this is not typical, but just the fact that it is happening in some churches should give us cause for optimism. All social changes take way longer than we wish they would, but it's encouraging to know that we might be moving towards the right way of living, albeit slowly. Also, my beloved pastor just relocated to Dallas to start a church there specifically because he sees a need for a racially diverse church in that city. There are many good-hearted Christians of every color. And I do think that ministers of every color need to reach out to the other cultures in their neighborhoods and make them feel welcome--not just white clergy. Hang in there--as we used to say in the civil rights movement, keep the faith.User Detail :
Name : Sara28353, City : Oakland, State : CA Country : United States,I find it interesting that both John W. and Dee L., while decrying racism and discrimination, both represent themselves as college educated, upper middle class professionals - an engineer and a minister. Gee, those guys must be suffering some terrible discrimination. Being college educated and upper middle class is tough, I'm here to tell you! Most of the black people in college today have perfect health, perfect teeth, dress well, never missed a meal, drive a car, have credit cards and have chosen their own majors and courses of study in institutions of higher education in the wealthiest country in the world. Yet they say they have experienced racism and discrimination! Curious. It certainly didn't keep Dee L. from going to college for over four years and becoming an upper middle class minister; a position of some status and esteem in the community. Jesus said, 'by their fruits shall you know them...' seems to me these guys trees are bearing pretty tasty fruit for them to be complaining!User Detail :
Name : Assunta Van Peebles, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : Southerner, Religion : Santeria, Age : 55, City : Indianapolis, State : IN Country : United States, Occupation : religious professional, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class,I'm a white Christian and would like to know what you, as an African American, think would be a good idea. I know racism is a serious problem, and I hate that. It shocks me that this is such a problem among people with the Spirit of God. In my limited experience with African-American Christians, I had a very gracious welcome with one couple, but found that later they had told my African fiance that he shouldn't marry me because whites have a different kind of heart. Most encounters are not this way. There are some cultural differences, and there is some fear of the unknown. What would you like to see from whites, because if I've really laid down my life, I should be doing whatever it takes, right?User Detail :
Name : Laura W., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 23, City : San Diego, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Research Ass't, Social class : Upper middle class,What do you mean when you say 'Sunday services are the most racial time of the week'?User Detail :
Name : Mike, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 27, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : Security Officer, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class,
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