Social Network Theory and Predictors of Religiosity for Black and White Catholics: Evidence of a "Black Sacred Cosmos"?

Abstract

Data drawn from a well-known survey of 2,667 registered U.S. Catholic parishioners (part of the Notre Dame Study of Catholic Parish Life) were used to examine the ways in which black Catholics differ from white Catholics in the patterns - and predictors - of religious devotionalism and spirituality. Black Catholics were found to display higher levels of the more private styles of religious devotion and report a greater frequency of spiritual experiences than white Catholics. Especially interesting are the high rates of participation by black Catholics in a variety of traditional, uniquely Catholic styles of devotion. Contrary to expectations, the correlates of religiosity for black and white Catholics tend to be similar. For both groups, social network variables are the strongest net predictors of every measure of religiosity.