4:50 p.m., Oct. 30, 2008----A new study has found that the more blacks are involved with their church, including attendance, the more involved they are in the political process and their communities.

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The study is the topic of a forthcoming scholarly article, “Assessing Cultural and Contextual Components of Social Capital: Is Civic Engagement in Peril?” by coauthors Lindsay Hoffman, University of Delaware assistant professor of communications, and Osei Appiah, of the Ohio State University School of Communication in Columbus, Ohio.

Hoffman said church involvement often provides more civic resources for those who attend regularly and are involved. This helps to foster social capital, “the glue that holds people together in terms of involvement in their communities.”

Hoffman said the 2008 presidential election may mark a turning point in the participation of black voters because of Barack Obama, the Democratic Party nominee.

“It is not unusual for pastors in black churches to discuss politics with their congregations, and to encourage them to vote,” Hoffman said. “Likely because of this historical tradition of discussing political issues in their churches and the presence of Barack Obama as a candidate, blacks are reporting that they are much more motivated to vote in this year's national election.”

The study, which will be published in the forthcoming issue of The Howard Journal of Communications (2008, Vol. 19, Issue 4), also found that while voter registration, turnout and civic engagement among Americans has dropped significantly over the past few decades, the gap between blacks and whites in political participation may be either shrinking or nonexistent.

“In terms of raw numbers of voters, blacks participate less than whites in political elections at the national level, but, particularly if there is a black candidate, they vote with more regularity than whites in non-presidential elections,” Hoffman said. “We also found that blacks who are involved in their churches tend to be more engaged in their communities, compared with whites who are involved in their churches.”

Article by Jerry Rhodes