Variation Within?: Exploring Intra-Congregational Differences in a Black Political Church

Previous research on the Black church\u27s role in politics has highlighted the importance of political churches -- churches with a significant political culture of communication and mobilization. We do not dispute the importance of political churches, but inquire whether their benefits are equally shared. In fact, given the semi-voluntary nature of the Black church, we should expect variance in what members take from the congregation. Using data gathered from a survey of members of one such political church, we look for variation in the ownership of significant political resources and in the degree to which congregants view their pastor and interest groups in the community as representatives. We find significant variation driven by political disagreement and the perceived efficacy of the pastor. What emerges is a sense of the diversity of the church experience within even highly political churches that challenges previous work