African-Americans surpass others in the U.S. in a range of expressions of faith, from praying more to attending religious services more frequently, a new report shows.
“Compared with other racial and ethnic groups, African-Americans are among the most likely to report a formal religious affiliation, with fully 87 percent of African-Americans describing themselves as belonging to one religious group or another,” states “A Religious Portrait of African-Americans,” released by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life on Friday (Jan. 30.)
The analysis finds that:
— 79 percent of blacks say religion is very important in their lives, compared with 56 percent of all U.S. adults
— 76 percent say they pray on at least daily, compared to 58 percent of the total U.S. population
Yet, about 70% of African-Americans are born out of wedlock. Despite comprising only about 12-13% of the total U.S. population, African-Americans comprise about 41% of the U.S. penal population , 38% of AIDS deaths in the U.S., and account for 36% of the abortions in the U.S.
Clearly, there is a profound disconnect between African-American “religiosity” and African-American lifestyles.