The Price of Faith: How Christianity’s Legacy Shapes Black Communities

Nearly 80% of African Americans identify as Christian, according to a 2014 Pew Research Center study. This is a higher percentage compared to the general U.S. population, where about 72% identify as Christian. For comparison, 70% of white Americans, 77% of Latinos, and just 34% of Asian Americans consider themselves Christian.

More than half of Black adults in the U.S. (53%) are part of the historically Black Protestant tradition. This includes denominations like the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Church of God in Christ, as well as those who don’t align with a specific denomination but identify broadly as Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, or other Protestant groups with historically Black roots.

The 2010 Census reported 47.9 million African Americans (including multiracial individuals), making up 14% of the total U.S. population. Based on this population and the 79% who identify as Christian, that’s approximately 37.8 million Black Christians.

If we apply the evangelical teaching of giving 10% of income to the church, even halving that to 5%, the numbers are staggering. The median Black household income is $56,490 annually, with average weekly earnings at $1086. This amounts to $4,344 in monthly income, and 5% of that is $217. Multiply $217 by the estimated 14.6 million Black Christians who might tithe at this rate, and the result is just under $4 billion—every month—being funneled into churches.

This isn’t just a financial calculation; it’s a reflection of the enormous influence Christianity has had on Black communities. This belief system, introduced during the horrors of slavery, was forcibly imposed on our ancestors. The first slave ship to bring Africans to the Americas was ironically named “Jesus of Lübeck,” a grim symbol of how this faith was used to justify oppression. Over centuries, this system has been passed down through generations, entrenching a belief in a savior figure that critics argue never existed.

The financial and emotional investment in this inherited faith perpetuates a system that benefits religious institutions more than the communities they serve. For many, organized religion—particularly under the influence of the Roman Catholic Church—continues to thrive on the hope and fear of a promised return that never comes. The cycle sustains itself, ensuring its survival at the expense of the very people it claims to uplift.