BMAS Participation of African American Men in Church Services Research Proposal C. Research Proposal : develop a proposed research study based on a researc

BMAS Participation of African American Men in Church Services Research Proposal C. Research Proposal : develop a proposed research study based on a research question they would like to answer in the Literature Review. 5 page minimum Assignment should be written in standard APA format (i.e. typed, double-spaced, with 1 inch margins and 12 point type – either Arial or Times New Roman.I have provided a copy of the literature review paper Running head: LACK OF PARTICIPATION AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN IN CHURCH
Lack of Participation African American Men in Church Activities: Literature Review
Name
Institutional Affiliation
LACK OF PARTICIPATION AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN IN CHURCH
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Introduction
The practice of Christianity is pegged on the idea of the faithful being committed to serving.
Christians need to be more active in terms of the various tasks entailed within. It is through the
process that they manage to show that they actually treat their salvation with the seriousness
deserved. Also, where Christians are committed to serving the church, they are more likely to
enhance their growth. They provide a positive reflection of it to the outside world. In the process,
many people become inclined to holding the religion in high esteem. Further, commitment is
essential in showing young Christians that they have a significant role to play in terms of
contributing to the growth of the church. However, there are indications that Christian African
American men do not participate actively in the church as compared to women. Gaps in
information do exist in terms of the reasons that underlie the specific situation. This paper provides
a review of the literature touching on the concept.
Literature Review
Skipper, Marks, and Chaney (2017) state that, while African Americans are generally a
highly religious group, in many black churches, as much of 70% of the congregation is composed
of women. The researchers aim to show that African Americans fail to participate as much in
church activities as would be expected of them. Many of them do not consider that they have a
primary role in participating in various church activities. They hold onto the belief that these
functions need to be handled by women. Many of them also hold onto the idea that they are too
busy to attend church often. Therefore, they happen to do so out of convenience more than will.
The situation, thus, predisposes a significant number of them to levels at which they lose interest
in being involved in church activities. They lose interest in seeing that there is a vital role that they
LACK OF PARTICIPATION AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN IN CHURCH
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could play with the need to ensure that they improve upon the impact which they are bound to
create in churches. Through the process, their levels of representation in Christian churches
continue to shrink.
Godbolt et al. (2018) establish that the attendance of African American men to church is
not related to body-mass as compared to that of women belonging to the racial demographic. As
for African American women, they look upon the church as a source for hope and solace for them.
Therefore, where they happen to be exposed to various health problems like obesity, they become
more interested in attending church and being active in the multiple activities entailed within.
According to them, they hold the idea that the action is essential in enabling them to move beyond
the various problems which they experience. They also contain high levels of trust in God that He
will protect them from numerous problems associated with increased weight like hypertension.
The situation is, however, different for African American men. They do not consider the church
as a source of solace for the various challenges which they might have. As a result, there is a high
chance that they would not attain the intention to be involved in church activities, which would
help to improve their outcomes.
Thompson et al. (2019) also affirm that African Americans are highly engaged in Church
activities. They look upon the church as a way of showcasing the level of trust which they have in
God. They aim to show that they are interested in engaging in the right activities, which are
essential in explaining the level of commitment that they have to salvation. However, they affirm
that African American men are less interested in engaging in church activities. They assert that
some of them hold the idea that attending church is a mere waste of time for them as they would,
instead, undertake activities which they believe would present them with significant economic
LACK OF PARTICIPATION AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN IN CHURCH
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benefits. Therefore, it is established that they look upon the need to engage in church activities as
a way of using time, which they could, otherwise, have had utilized elsewhere with the need to
attain the desired outcomes. African Americans are deeply interested in activities which they
believe will offer them the immediate gratification which they need in life. They need to move
beyond the gratifications which they need.
Taylor, Chatters, and Brown (2014) show that African American men’s participation in
church is low based on various factors. One of them is that their orientation is negatively impacted
right from when they are young. Therefore, the situation shows that they would grow up, hoping
that they would one day have the autonomy to make a choice on whether they would be willing to
engage in church activities or not. They feel that growing up would give them the chance to avoid
going to church. While growing up, they thought that they were forced to go to church by their
mothers against their will. Therefore, the situation bore a negative impact on them as they felt that
it was now time for them to avoid going to church as a way of attaining their autonomy. Over the
years, African American men have had the interest to adopt the necessary changes which are
essential in determining the trend which the church is likely to have. As a result, it is possible for
them to adopt the right mechanisms which are effective in boosting the effect which the church is
likely to have. The situation also points to the idea that African American men need to be shown
the positive effect which they stand to create in church. Therefore, they need to be more active in
their activities.
The authors also show that African American men lack the opportunity to establish the
correlation that exists between being engaged in church activities and attaining the best life
outcomes. The situation, therefore, exposes many of them to events where they do not consider
LACK OF PARTICIPATION AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN IN CHURCH
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the aspect of church participation as being significantly essential for them too. They hold the idea
that they can manage to go about their normal activities, even in situations where they do not pay
significant heed to the concept of church participation. The situation, therefore, makes African
American men fail to identify with the virtues that underlie church attendance and engaging in
various activities associated with it. Men fail to determine the right processes which they could
take with the need to ensure that they have a positive impact on the church. It is highly possible
that they might fail to engage in the various situations which will be appropriate in showcasing the
specific changes and improvements which need to be adopted in the church. The men fail to
identify with the right processes which create the right outcomes.
They tend to consider the immediate benefits which they stand to obtain from engaging in
some activities or not. Therefore, there is the idea that they might fail to create the best outcomes
in terms of improving their welfare. It is, therefore, established that African American men fail to
put a significant perception of engaging in the various activities which they believe will be
applicable to them. As a result, there is a chance that it might negatively impact their ability to
engage in church activities even in the future. As African American men only consider the benefits
which they are likely to obtain in the short-run, they fail to look at the bigger picture. For instance,
nit is necessary for them to ensure that they provide a specific effect, which will be crucial in terms
of making the church much better every day. Putting much focus on personal gains reduces the
ability of the church to benefit effectively.
Wilcox et al. (2013) look into the level of participation of African Americans in churches.
The researchers established that gender is highly represented in the idea of the church. For instance,
it is shown that African Americans fail to participate actively in African churches. It is, therefore,
LACK OF PARTICIPATION AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN IN CHURCH
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established that African American men fail to look into the idea of posterity with the need to ensure
that people continue to participate actively. As a result, the level of men’s participation in churches
is likely to rescind in the future. The situation is based on the idea that they fail to provide young
African American men the appropriate direction which they need to follow with the need to ensure
that they also become inclined to being part of the church. It is also established that they fail to
show the necessary trajectory which would be expected in terms of the growth of the church among
the African Americans. The researchers argue that Christian African American men need to be
candid with respect to their participation in the church. It is through the process that they will
manage to show others that they are highly committed with respect to serving in the church
effectively. The process will be appropriate in helping to create the desired change. It is possible
for them to of significant effect in terms of boosting the outcomes which stand to be attained. As
a result, it is possible for them to focus effectively in light of the specific activities which are
effective in church.
Conclusion
As established in the literature review, the level of participation of African American men
in churches is significantly low. They feel that they are not mandated to be part of the church as
deemed necessary. They leave their participation in church is not as essential as that of women.
Therefore, they fail to engage in the various activities which will be highly appropriate in helping
to create the desired outcomes. It is shown that the reduced level of participation of African
American men in churches is likely to impact negatively on the future willingness of young African
American boys in church activities. They take the cue from their seniors and are, therefore, more
likely to follow it through. As a result, there is a chance that they would not have a significant
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effect on the church. Young boys are more likely to avoid any instances, which would mean that
they spend time in church more. The situation serves as an indication that young boys need to be
shown the necessary levels of guidance, which are essential in creating the best outcomes within
the church.
References
Godbolt, D., Vaghela, P., Burdette, A. M., & Hill, T. D. (2018). Religious attendance and body
mass: An examination of variations by race and gender. Journal of religion and
health, 57(6), 2140-2152. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10943-017-0490-1
Skipper, A., Marks, L., & Chaney, C. (2017). “Iron Sharpens Iron”: Views of the Church
Congregation from the Unheard Voices of Religious African American Men. Spectrum: A
Journal
on
Black
Men, 6(1),
77-98.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/spectrum.6.1.04?seq=1’
Taylor, R. J., Chatters, L. M., & Brown, R. K. (2014). African American religious
participation. Review
of
Religious
Research, 56(4),
513-538.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13644-013-0144-z
Thompson Jr, E. H., Futterman, A. M., & McDonnell, M. O. (2019). The legacy of the Black
Church: older African Americans’ religiousness. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging,
1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/15528030.2019.1611521
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Wilcox, S., Parrott, A., Baruth, M., Laken, M., Condrasky, M., Saunders, R., … & Kinnard, D.
(2013). The Faith, Activity, and Nutrition program: a randomized controlled trial in AfricanAmerican
churches. American
journal
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2012.09.062
of
preventive
medicine, 44(2),
122-131.

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