Religiosity and Altruism Among African American Males

Abstract

America has come to develop two contrasting perceptions of African American male religiosity in the post-civil rights period. The press for racial inclusion throughout the Kennedy/Johnson era has forged the association of African American male religious involvement with political engagement (Arp & Boeckelman, 1997; Peterson, 1992). The urban image emerging in the post-Reagan climate endows him with a nonreligious quality, in that it depicts an individual who is nihilistic and antisocial. These two images are clearly contradictory. To the degree that religious involvement is prevalent among African American men and has positive effects, the latter image is called into question. So too is the former image, to the extent that diminishing concern for others is becoming characteristic of urban life. What, then, is the current state of African American male religiosity, and how does it affect his sense of wellbeing and other-directness? This article reviews the literature suggesting that religiosity varies across subgroups in society and can have two broad effects on the individual: It can shape one's attitudes and behaviors toward oneself, and it can shape one's attitudes and behaviors toward others. The level of religiosity and altruism (measured by reported