Talk:Racial segregation of churches in the United States

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Kmwebber.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 02:57, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 24 August 2020 and 4 December 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Kef1170, MichelleGachelin. Peer reviewers: Jkolli.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 02:57, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Intro
Hello, I am the creator of this page, I know that it is no where NEAR complete, but I feel confident that it is now ready to be moved in the main space. If you have any comments, concerns, or tips, please feel free to write me here or on my talk page. Thank you all. Kmwebber (talk) 20:31, 3 March 2017 (UTC)Kmwebber

Peer review
This is an incredibly comprehensive, well-researched start to an article—great work! I think the organization of the article is a real strength; the article flows well from section to section. Your article could be improved even more in the next round of edits by adding relevant images and potentially touching on the experiences of other races in segregated churches. All in all, excellent job! Cpm5 (talk) 21:18, 4 March 2017 (UTC)

Peer review 2
This article is very well-written, maintains neutrality throughout, and draws from a variety of scholarly sources (and puts them into context where appropriate). The article presents the various sections in a logical and well-organized way, making it very readable and easy to follow. The article can be further improved by expanding the lead section to elucidate important aspects of the issue and creating a smoother transition into the body. In addition, the article can discuss the relationship between segregation/racism and community building (are these two effects interrelated?). Overall, great work! Sraman195 (talk) 21:13, 27 March 2017 (UTC)

Early New England churches
This page has a plethora of great information, but suffers from an important omission: in colonial New England, including the then wilderness of Vermont, churches often admitted people of color to full membership, including baptism and marriage. People of color most often had to sit in specified places - in the back or galleries - like women and children. There were even a handful of Native American and African American pastors. Not many, but then New England was a small place with few people still. It wasn't until the early nineteenth century that this changed and New England churches became segregated, as state and federal law enshrined slavery and institutionalized racism and political and social lines hardened. I don't have time to research this right now, but I have been writing a book on Lemuel Haynes and have been intently focused on this period. Reverend Haynes was the pastor of the West Rutland Church for thirty years, son of a slave, much beloved by his congregation and state. He was only forced out in 1818 as pro-slavery pressure rose in post-war America and his congregation became increasingly 'embarrassed' to have him as pastor. NEHGS is probably a good source on this, and there are a number of scholarly books on the subject.

UPDATE: Here is one source: “African American Churches of Beacon Hill,” Boston African American Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service, updated: February 26, 2015, accessed 7 April 2018). Sblanchard56 (talk) 05:50, 7 April 2018 (UTC)


 * Didn't many New England churches require most of the attenders to sit in designated pews which they had to rent? (PeacePeace (talk) 16:43, 21 September 2018 (UTC))

NPOV Revision Needed; POV appears to be influenced by Black-Racism
Article has a section on Racism. For example, we read:
 * "A 1999 study showed that among churchgoers, those who go to segregated or primarily white churches are more likely to exhibit racist behaviors or to have prejudiced ideas about African Americans."

The paragraph is a violation of NPOV as it attacks white church segregation and does not address black church segregation. If an editor has evidence that white racism is promoted by segregated churches, complementary evidence that black church segregation promotes black-racism, is in order. (PeacePeace (talk) 16:35, 21 September 2018 (UTC)

Improve Article by adding section non-segregated churches
I would like to see a section on non-segregated churches, a list of integrated churches with some observations on what correlates with non-segregation. BTW, I think this article seems to confuse correlation with causation. For example, if racists go to church, it is very likely to be a racially exclusive church. That does not prove that the fact that a church is segregated caused those persons to be racist. (PeacePeace (talk) 16:41, 21 September 2018 (UTC))

Substantially Improving This Article
Hi! My friend Kate and I will be improving and expanding upon this article in the interest of providing viewers with more thorough information on this topic. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or suggestions. Also, feel free to check out our User Pages for more information about us, what we’ll be changing, and some references we plan to use in the process. Michelle Gachelin (talk) 01:57, 11 September 2020 (UTC)

Improvements to this page
I am working with my friend Michelle to improve the structure and content of this page to hopefully advance it to good article status. -Kef1170 (talk) 19:37, 20 September 2020 (UTC)

Proposed Changes to This Article (Outline)
Hello! I recently added a detailed outline of how we are planning to substantially revise this article. Please head to the sandbox linked on my User Page to view it! We'll be eliminating a substantial amount of sections containing information that we feel belongs best in other areas. We'll also be adding sections on information that wasn't covered in sufficient detail. Please let us know if you would like to add any input or have questions about our planned revisions. Thanks! Michelle Gachelin (talk) 03:33, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

Here is the link to my sandbox where you can view our outline: Sandbox Michelle Gachelin (talk) 03:35, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

Proposed Edit Outline
I am still planning to work on this article with Michelle, and I have also uploaded an outline of our proposed edits to my user page sandbox. Please feel free to read it and provide any feedback you may have! Kef1170 (talk) 03:38, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

Continued Edits- Feedback Welcome
Hi all! My friend Michelle and I have continued editing this article. I just published changes to the Catholicism portion of the article, and would appreciate any feedback you all have. If you would like to see more information on our proposed edits check out my user page! Kef1170 (talk) 02:28, 9 October 2020 (UTC)

Additional Revisions
Hi! I just published revisions to the Pre-Civil War section, dividing it into Northern States and Southern States. I also added a section on Praying Indians. Please let me know if you have any feedback! Michelle Gachelin (talk) 03:41, 9 October 2020 (UTC)

Black Catholic statistics
Those statistics are horrible. There are three different types in isolation. There is no basis for comparison, no discussion of trends, no per capita adjustment. They are essentially meaningless. Elizium23 (talk) 22:27, 13 October 2020 (UTC)


 * Hi! Thank you so much for your feedback. If you don't mind, would you explain your concerns a little bit more? I do believe that I touched on the trend of the expansion of black membership in the church. I am also planning to add the pew research statistics under other denominations which would allow for comparison! Thanks! Kef1170 (talk) 19:37, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

Peer Review 2020
The article provides a broad yet comprehensive look at racial segregation of churches in the US. I think that the 21st century section and Implications section are particularly well done. In terms of changes, I think that more denomination-specific sources in the Variations among denominations section and more recent/quantitative statistics of the number of people represented by each denomination would contribute to the quality of the article. Great job! Jkolli (talk) 02:19, 29 October 2020 (UTC)

Peer Review on new edits
Kate, Great Job! The content you added to the article provides a more complete view of the topic of Racial Segregation in churches. The inclusion of different denominations and the variations between them provide more accurate depictions of religious racial segregation. Again, I would just suggest working on homogenizing your topic sentences to make your intended points clearer in the denomination section. I also suggest adding more information beyond statistics, specifically in the Jim Crow and Protestant sections.

Overall, very quality work! Melired (talk) 02:22, 29 October 2020 (UTC)

Peer review
This article does a great job of providing organized statistics, demographics, and information regarding both historical and present topics relating to Racial segregation of churches in the US. I would suggest citing the authors of your statistics more, so we know that the numbers are fact-checked, and adding a short description on Black Hebrew Israelites to match the short descriptions of the other topics in the same section. Kezchow (talk) 03:02, 29 October 2020 (UTC)

Article review
Nice work guys, this article has definitely improved. I think the denominations section is robust, but perhaps could use an expansion on more non-traditional sects such as Unitarianism or expansion on the Black Hebrew Israelites group there just to make sure all perspectives are covered. Additionally, I think it would help to group sects with similar theological relationships closer together. I think you guys nailed the writing POV and sentence structure, though, well done! —UnoDosTrey (talk) 17:06, 29 October 2020 (UTC)

Violence against churches
The section on violence against segregated churches is beginning to grow and veer off-topic. This article is about racial segregation, and there are plenty on violent church attacks. I think we will need to establish a strong and direct link between a church's current segregation and the motivations and effects of the attack. I do not think it is helpful to include every tragedy at "historically black" churches that are in fact racially integrated, especially when the motivation was anti-Christian or similar. Elizium23 (talk) 02:24, 7 November 2020 (UTC)

Hi! Thanks for your feedback. I just added more statistics to that section relating to those topics, and I clarified how these shootings, which were clearly racially motivated, had long-lasting impacts on ongoing racial tensions. I also added more information on multiracial churches under the "Acknowledging racial divides" section. Please let us know of any further feedback. Cheers! Michelle Gachelin (talk) 04:54, 7 November 2020 (UTC)