Searching for the Spirit: A Content Analysis of the Black Church in Mainstream Social Work Journals

Abstract

Content on religion and spirituality among African Americans is largely absent from the curricula of social work programs. African Americans' unique relationship with faith makes knowledge of religion and spirituality critical for social workers attempting to establish an effective professional relationship with clients for whom these are important areas of their lives. Because content on understanding, assessing and incorporating spirituality into the helping process is not readily available to social workers as students, the professional literature should certainly be a ready source for the provision of useful and relevant information. This article reports the results of a content analysis of 6 mainstream social work journals related to material on religion, spirituality, and the Black Church in the lives of African Americans. The findings indicate a poverty of content on these topics which could hinder practitioners' opportunities for success with African American Christian clients. Opportunities to expand dissemination of the content are discussed.