Article
The Role of Whites in Lay Leadership Within Latino Churches
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
(2018)
Abstract
Latinos are the largest ethnoracial minority group in America, and Latino congregations play an important role in the lives of their members and communities. Yet, little research exists on these congregations. The current study provides an examination of the lay leadership structures and power dynamics within Latino congregations. Drawing from organizational ecology theory and the homophily principle as well as contemporary racial stratification literature, we propose competing hypotheses regarding the roles whites play within the lay leadership and power structures of Latino congregations. Utilizing a national multilevel data set, we find the persistence of white privilege existing within Latino congregations, as whites are more likely to hold lay leadership positions within these congregations than Latinos, despite their numeric minority status. Moreover, our results reveal that individual access to the decision‐making process in these congregations increases for both whites and multiracial individuals as the proportion of Latinos increases in their congregation. We further discuss the implications of these findings
Keywords
- congregations,
- Latino/as,
- Lay Leadersip,
- race
Disciplines
Publication Date
March, 2018
DOI
10.1111/jssr.12497
Citation Information
Brandon C Martinez and Jeffrey A Tamburello. "The Role of Whites in Lay Leadership Within Latino Churches" Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion Vol. 57 Iss. 1 (2018) p. 39 - 57 ISSN: 0021-8294 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/brandon-martinez/30/