This study explores contemporary regional variations in African American religious life. Building on a rich tradition of historical and ethnographic research on the Black church, we contrast the religious environments that have traditionally prevailed in the Black communities of the rural South and urban non-South. We emphasize regional variations in (1) the social role of religious institutions, (2) the availability of alternative lifestyles and secular opportunities for status and resources, and (3) the social norms and community expectations regarding church involvement A series of hypotheses regarding patterns and correlates of church participation are then tested, using data from the National Survey of Black Americans. Findings indicate that historical regional variations in African American religious life persist in the contemporary period. Moreover, our results suggest that the rural southern Black church retains its traditional “semi-involuntary” character, and we discuss the broader theoretical implications of this issue for future research in the sociology of religion.
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