Are Black Millennials Being Pushed Out of the Church?

Just a few weeks ago, evangelist Jefferson Bethke wrote a provocative essay for The Washington Post, arguing that church-going millennials were in crisis. Their desire to break free from the rigidness of their parents’ religion, he argued, has led them to an overemphasis on individual freedom. “If you care more about flaunting your Christian freedom than promoting Christian unity,” he wrote, “you’re probably not free. You are actually a slave to your so-called freedom.” 

I was reminded of Bethke’s essay recently after reading about several high profile events that sparked intense debate on social media. First, news broke that a 26-year-old pastor was fired for attending a Rick Ross concert; then there were reports that a 16-year-old girl was removed from the church choir after her third pregnancy; and a pastor instructed women in his church to not wear weaves. 

Each of these incidents got me thinking about the never-ending discussion about millennials leaving the church. This is reflected in data from a 2012 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life’s Religious Landscape Survey, which states, “One-fifth of the U.S. public – and a third of adults under 30 – are religiously unaffiliated today, the highest percentages ever in Pew Research Center polling.” But this also led me to wonder if the same goes for black millennials. Are they fleeing the black church in the same ways that we see happening in mainline Protestant churches?

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