Author: Zach Roberts

The initial purpose for this research was to determine if there’s a generational divide on race in the Adventist church. The problem is that there’s not a lot of data on that question. Adventist-specific data is harder to come by. That’s where we have to be the ones who find out. Journalism is a truth-seeking field, and the truth on this needs to be sought out. 

We looked at the history and took a glance at how the Adventist church has handled race. The results were a bit mixed. But that doesn’t answer the big question: how do Adventists feel about it? Is there a divide? It seems that way, but facts aren’t reported on how things seem. They’re reported on how things are. 

To find out how things are, I am conducting a survey. The survey aims to give Adventists a space to respond to how they feel about racial issues and race in America. That’s how we’ll figure out just how divided we are, if we are at all divided. Once we figure that out, we can begin to move forward with bridging that gap. At the very least, we can begin to understand why. 

The survey has been out for quite some time and when you read this, we’ll likely have data compiled. But this is an ongoing endeavor and if we really want to fully understand it, then more responses are absolutely critical. 

Here’s the link: https://forms.gle/79AwEYp2zK7mckP99. Your responses are valuable and will help us to understand this phenomenon. 

Focus on the Family, a well-known Christian media outlet, posted an article in 2010, over a decade ago. The question posed by the reader sadly rings true to this day.

“How can a nation that was built on slavery and that’s still full of racial discrimination today possibly have ‘biblical roots’?” the person was quoted as saying. “I’ve been hurt by racism in so-called ‘Christian’ America,’ and I just don’t understand why so many conservative evangelicals say this country is based on ‘Christian values.’ As an African American who has faced racial hatred, I find this perspective unbelievable. If that’s Christianity, then I want nothing to do with it!”

Eleven years later, and this is still true, if not worse than it was then. Racial issues have gone nowhere, and Christians don’t seem to be too bothered by that. The Barna Group, an evangelical Christian polling firm, reports that in a July 2020 poll, 19% of practicing Christians believe race is not a problem at all today, an increase from 11% in 2019. This is despite 2020 being a year filled with racial injustices: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many more have died. 

The Barna Group also reports that 30% of self-identifying Christians are unmotivated to address these issues. If we look at the demographics of the Christian church, we can see just who these Christians are. According to PEW Research, just 9% of white Christians are younger Millennials and 13% of black Christians are younger millennials. 

The largest group here is the white Baby Boomer segment. They represent 37% of the white population of Christians, which could indicate why the church tends to feel a certain way about racial issues. White people, try as they might, struggle to understand the challenges of being a minority. If we look at the sample size of populations taken for this information, we can see the white population outnumbers the rest of the groups combined. The white Christians sampled for this research is a whopping 17,441. The next closest group is Latino with 2,863.

As we can see, the division between white and nonwhite is striking. Most younger generations sampled for this research are in the vast minority. Generational divide, indeed. 

By Zach Roberts

According to PEW Research, Adventists are among the most racially and ethnically diverse American religious groups. The Adventist church in America is 37% white, 32% black, 15% Hispanic, 8% Asian, and 8% are another race or mixed race. That is strong diversity. However, this doesn’t mean you can just walk into an Adventist church and see this diversity first-hand. 

This is affected regionally. Forty percent of Adventists live in the South and 31% live in the West. According to Statistical Atlas, 58% of people living in the South are white. That number drops to 51.2% in the West. So, the majority of people in the largest Adventist population locations are white. 

This notion of the Adventist church being the most diverse gets put more into perspective when you consider the fact that the Adventist church has a membership of over 21 million people and only 1.2 million of those come from America. It’s true that the Adventist church is extremely diverse. Having 19 million non-American members makes that a true statement. 

However, I am studying the American church, which is significantly less diverse and that even depends on the region in which you are located. Diversity will vary. If you go into a Southern Adventist church, it might be less diverse than one in the Midwest or the North. 

That’s an important distinction to consider when looking at the diversity of the church and how that plays into views on race, or just racism in the church in general.

By Zach Roberts

I spoke with Koralys Rodriguez, a Puerto Rican lifelong Adventist who attends Statesville Seventh-day Adventist church. This is the same church I attend at home and the one I referenced in my introductory blog post. I asked her about race in the church, with a special look at how they’re doing today. I’ve researched the past, but now it’s time to get some perspective on the present. She had some powerful things to say. Check it out down below: 

The Adventist church struggles with race, which is no different today than at its inception in the mid 1800s. I suppose that’s no different than any church or any institution that exists today, especially in America. It should be noted that the Adventist church is the most diverse Christian denomination in the world. Unfortunately, that does not elevate the denomination above the racial struggles we see today. 

By Zach Roberts

The Seventh-day Adventist Church says it does not stand for racism. The denomination’s statement in an article posted on Adventist.org begins with an analysis of racism as a sin and how it remains in effect today. The third paragraph reads, “The Seventh-day Adventist Church deplores all forms of racism, including the political policy of apartheid with its enforced segregation and legalized discrimination.” 

That’s pretty clear. However, how does the denomination fare with racial landmarks? Based on my research, it seems they were pretty hit or miss. Ellen White, the denomination’s most prominent co-founder considered a prophetess by most members, said things that seemed like she, and the church as a result, were against racism in every facet. However, the denomination has struggled with segregated churches and other issues.

In a dissertation on SDA’s and race relations, Cleran Hollancid writes, “Racial division in the church is not only embarrassing to the faith, but actually impairs the quality of relations in society.” 

Division in the church, and everywhere, is seemingly at an all-time high right now. Within the church, division over women’s ordination and leadership remains a heated discussion. But since racial issues have become somewhat intertwined with politics, the division there, albeit probably more private, remains tense.

Here is a timeline of the intersections between race and the Adventist church:

https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/2492031

Sources:

https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2412&context=dissertations

https://www.adventist.org/articles/racism/