Race and Religion



Abstract

Ideas about race and racism have been a centrepiece of social geography for as much as 50 years, yet it was not until the 1990s that markers of difference rooted in religion, masculinities and generation achieved the same critical attention. Moreover, while all of these literatures are now well established in the discipline, relatively few studies - within or beyond human geography - have sought to bring them together. Focusing on recent research about race, religion, young people and masculinities, from within human geography as well as from neighbouring disciplines, I suggest various ways in which human geographers might seek to include the experiences, identities and practices of young racialized and religious men in their future research. In engaging with the lived experiences of young people whose voices are usually silenced, often unheard and frequently distorted, this article seeks to explore some of the ways in which masculinities and the experiences of young people may be mediated by the geographies of racism and religion. Initially offering a brief summary of some of the recent trends in the geography of race and racism, religion, youth and masculinities, I then suggest ways in which an agenda for research with young racialized and religious men might be taken forward. A growing body of research has focused on socioeconomic and cultural explanations for the fragility of marriage in urban America. This paper examines the role that religious participation—and the norms and behaviours it promotes—plays in encouraging marriage among new parents in urban America. Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we find that urban mothers who have a nonmarital birth are significantly more likely to marry within a year of that birth if they attend church frequently. For the most part, this religious effect cannot be explained by measured relationship-related beliefs and behaviours (such as affection between partners and the absence of domestic violence). Instead, religious beliefs and social supports associated with church attendance may help urban mothers make the transition to marriage in communities where marriage has become increasingly infrequent.

Table of contents

Chapter I5

Introduction5

Explanation7

Chapter II12

Literature review12

Potential new research directions12

Chapter III28

Hypothesis 128

Hypothesis 1a28

Hypothesis 228

Methods28

Data28

Independent variables30

Analysis33

Results34

Chapter IV40

Discussion40

Religion, “decent” living, and marriage in urban America45

Religion and marriage among African-Americans48

The place of Christianity: deracination versus modernization57

Conclusion64

Endnotes69

Appendix82

Race and Religion

Chapter I

Introduction

Daniel Dubuisson declared that children's geographies had 'come of age'. Each of these four areas of research are now receiving much attention from human geographers interested in the interactions between society and space, people and place, bodies and landscapes. However, few studies have sought to bring these four areas of research together, and those that have tend to focus on the British context. Therefore, in this article, I aim to set out an agenda for future research that focuses on the linkages between racism, religion, youth and masculinities in various contexts and localities. In order to do this, I initially introduce key trends in each of the four areas, before going on to suggest ways in which they inform ...