Research: Black men less religious than Black women but more religious that white men and women

Research indicates that men in the U.S. are generally less religious than women, reports Pew Research.org. The pattern remains the same among Black Americans, as Black women tend to be more religious than Black men. However, Black men are not only more religious that white men, they are also more religious than white women. According to the latest research from Pew, Black men are also more religious than Hispanic men and at least as religious than Hispanic women. About 69 percent of Black men say religion is very important to them, compared with 80 percent of Black women. But Black men place more importance on religion than white women at 55 percent and Hispanic women at 65 percent. The same dynamic holds true when it comes to belief in God. Roughly 78 percent of Black men say they believe in God with “absolute certainty,” a higher level of belief than is found among white women at 67 percent and Hispanic women at 65 percent, though, again, lower than the level of belief seen among Black women (86 percent). The research also uses a scale that combines responses to four questions – frequency of prayer, belief in God, attendance at religious services and importance of religion in their lives – to classify Americans’ levels of religious belief and practice as high, moderate or low. On this scale, Black men (70 percent) are less likely than Black women (83 percent) to be categorized as highly religious. At the same time, they are more likely than white women (58 percent) and roughly as likely as Hispanic women (67 percent) to be in the highly religious category. They are also much more likely than Hispanic men (50 percent) and white men (44 percent) to be highly religious.