I tend to beg to differ.

Blacks (82%) are the group most likely to believe that the Bible is totally accurate in all of its teachings compared with 68% of whites, 62% of Hispanics, and 39% of Asians. Blacks (66%) are the ethnic group most likely to have read the Bible in the past week, follwed by whites (45%), Hispanics (41%) and Asians (20%).

Again, that would seem to indicate that I wasn’t just pulling opinions out of my asshole.

For the record, I lived in LA for 2 years and it’s no less true there than it is anywhere else in the country. I’m talking about the Black Community, Crenshaw, Slauson, not the handful of Blacks you’ve met in Hollywood. I know that sounded condescending but I really don’t mean it to be. Anyone who was as immersed in the Black community as I am would come away with the same impression. If you are not an atheist that might explain why you think you see so many of them. There is an impression among White people in Vegas that there are a lot of Blacks here even though we are only 8% of the population in Vegas. When my White friends come back to Philly with me where we are nearly 50% of the population they understand what i mean by there being no Blacks in Vegas.

Trust me, if you were to count Christians versus atheists in your acquaintence, I’m sure you’d quickly see that there is not anything approaching an equal number. That would be impossible since there aren’t an equal number of atheists compared to Christians in the US of any race. Atheists are only 3% of the American population unless you include agnostics and the non-religious in which case it jumps to twelve percent. In the African-American community, those numbers are even smaller.

Thanks for those stats Awesomesauce. It is far more admirable when someone does a little research before throwing out random subjective opinions.The Barna Research Group collects religious stats and makes them widely available to anyone who might be curious. The US Census is another good resource. I would challenge Ms. Lynne to find one statistic from a reputable research group that contradicts anything that I have said.

Blacks attend church more often than Whites or Hispanics. Our services are, on average, 70% longer. Blacks (94%) are more likely than whites (83%), Hispanics (81%) or Asians (58%) to pray in a given week. Results from a recent survey conducted by the Barna Research Group revealed that the number 1 goal indicated by 94% of African-Americans was “to have a personal relationship with God” above health, education, family, social or economic equality, political status, or business oportunity. 84% of African Americans consider their church leaders to be the spokesperson for their community. Telling results indeed.

I am not some Ivory tower elitist. I grew up in Philadelphia in the type of ghetto that only exists in the old industrial cities. My family is originally from North Carolina. As you mentioned derisivelyin your post, I have travelled quite a bit. Even still, I would not throw my opinions out there if they were merely subjective and I had not verified them objectively. Any objectuve study of Black religious habits would more than uphold my position.

The african-americans in LA are far LESS religious than anywhere else in the US I have seen. So leaving LA will not prove what you are stating…it will only show you do not know what you are talking about. And…to be clear…I said that is was MY observation.