Worship Across the Racial Divide

Many scholars and church leaders believe that music and worship style are essential in stimulating diversity in congregations. Gerardo Marti draws on interviews with more than 170 congregational leaders and parishioners, as well as his experiences participating in worship services in a wide variety of Protestant, multiracial Southern Californian churches, to present this insightful study of the role of music in creating congregational diversity. Worship across the Racial Divide offers a surprising conclusion: that there is no single style of worship or music that determines the likelihood of achieving a multiracial church. Far more important are the complex of practices of the worshipping community in the production and absorption of music. Multiracial churches successfully diversify by stimulating unobtrusive means of interracial and interethnic relations; in fact, preparation for music apart from worship gatherings proves to be just as important as its performance during services. Marti shows that aside from and even in spite of the varying beliefs of attendees and church leaders, diversity happens because music and worship create practical spaces where cross-racial bonds are formed. This groundbreaking book sheds light on how race affects worship in multiracial churches. It will allow a new understanding of the dynamics of such churches, and provide crucial aid to church leaders for avoiding the pitfalls that inadvertently widen the racial divide. Marti provides an ethnographically rich study. Ross Kane, Theology Vol. 116 necessary reading for anyone interested in the study of race, religion, and worship music. Walt Bower, Sociology of ReligionPreface ; Chapter 1 Introduction: The Dream of Diversity and the Dilemma of Music ; Part I Confronting Popular Notions at the Intersection of Race and Worship ; Chapter 2 Popular Beliefs about Worship in Multiracial Churches ; Chapter 3 African Americans as the Icon of <"True Worship>" ; Part II Worship Experience and Music Selection in Multiracial Churches ; Chapter 4 The Naive Experience of Worship in Multiracial Churches ; Chapter 5 The Challenge of Leading Multiracial Worship ; Part III Negotiating Race and Achieving Congregational Diversity ; Chapter 6 Variety and Intentionality in the Design of Multiracial Worship ; Chapter 7 <"Have You Seen Our Gospel Choir?>" Conspicuous Color in Multiracial Worship ; Chapter 8 Interracial Community through Multiracial Worship Practices ; Conclusion Mystical Worship and the Reality of Practice ; Appendix: Research Methodology ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index