Browsing by Subject "Multicultural"

In line with Social Identity Theory, the social groups we claim (e.g., race, gender, religion) help define our sense of self and fulfill fundamental belonging needs. However, social exclusion experiences may also be especially informative for Multiracial and Multicultural groups (people who claim more than one racial or cultural group identity respectively) since these groups directly challenge singular social categorization norms. In my dissertation, I test the role of group-based exclusion as a catalyst for shifts in self-identification among Multiracial and Multicultural individuals. Specifically, in Chapter 2, two studies test how racial ingroup and outgroup exclusion and inclusion via Cyberball may differentially influence Multiracial individuals’ sense of belonging and identification to multiple ingroups. Chapter 3 explores how Multicultural Latine Americans respond to institutional exclusion communicated via a mock-Census form. Chapter 4 draws from the observed patterns in the previous two sets of studies and tests how exclusion from specific sources predicts identification with various available ingroups for Multiracial and Multicultural people in a series of mediation models. In sum, I find that social exclusion experiences impact not only the ways Multiracial and Multicultural people feel accepted or rejected by different ingroups, but also that exclusion impacts their evaluative and cognitive perceptions of group-level identification. Furthermore, results reveal that the direction of identification (decreased or increased) is influenced by both the specific source of exclusion and the target ingroup membership. This research demonstrates how social exclusion, in contrast to inclusion, acts as a previously underacknowledged, but highly salient pathway of social identity development, particularly for minority-group compared to majority-group identities. Additionally, this work highlights the importance of considering identification as multifaceted and fluid and contributes to the field’s understanding of social identity development and negotiation.

Abstract

It is commonly thought that eleven o’clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America. Race in America is a vitally important issue and is equally significant within the inner systems of American churches. This project considers what motivations can be embraced to move homogeneous churches toward racial diversity and specifically whether the prayer for unity in the body of Christ that Jesus prayed in John seventeen is compelling enough to initiate a transition from homogeneity to multiracial. This thesis addresses the questions: What societal barriers exist that prevent or inhibit racial diversity within the majority of American churches? Can we identify societal mandates with theological underpinnings that are adequate to overcome these barriers? What practical approaches can congregational leaders implement to create and sustain an intercultural, multiracial church? So, this project is both an expedition for understanding and a search for strategies that will give the most promising opportunity to produce a healthy multiracial local church. The research is primarily a literature review and will include existing literature regarding historical race relations, sociological implications of race, and segregation in American churches as well as personal experiences pastoring a multicultural church. Documented interviews and discussions from notable individuals about race, white privilege, and discrimination within the American church structures will be included in the inquiry. Ultimately, this thesis provides pastors, leaders, church planters, or leadership teams the tools necessary to navigate the challenges of forming a racially diverse church, understand the complexity of race relations in America, identify the needed motivation to persevere through the process of transforming a homogeneous church into a multicultural one, and acquire reliable action steps that if taken, will increase the likelihood of success. This project presents Jesus’ prayer for unity in John seventeen as a call to action and the research both affirms its validity and offers steps toward its fulfillment.

As the number of multiethnic churches in the United States continues to rapidly increase, predominantly white congregations perpetually struggle to contribute to this trend. Stories of formerly white churches achieving a multiethnic reality are few and far between, despite survey data indicating 70 percent of church leaders wish their congregations were more ethnically diverse.From within this troubling scenario, a question and a need emerge. The question is why formerly white, now multiethnic churches are so rare. The need, is more stories—for while statistics prove change is necessary, stories prove change is possible—and many leaders who desire to transition their white churches into multiethnicity will not act until they know it can be done.

This thesis seeks to answer the question above, by addressing the need above. That is, by collecting and curating stories from leaders who already lead such churches, explanations for their rarity emerge, alongside footsteps for aspiring leaders to follow as they begin their own journeys.

The result of casual conversations with ten leaders at formerly white, now multiethnic churches from across the United States, this thesis presents stories that illuminate the uncommon leadership, robust theology, and intentional culture that makes them so rare.