(iPoster) Black Church Organizations and Local Party Leadership

• In Event: Poster Sessions: Public Administration & Political Organizations and Parties
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Political Organizations and Parties

Abstract

This study examines whether the density of Black Protestant churches in a county influences the racial composition of local party leadership. Drawing on theories of group identity and political mobilization, I argue that Black Protestant churches serve as critical hubs for political engagement, fostering networks that facilitate leadership opportunities within party organizations. I hypothesize that counties with more Black Protestant churches and higher ratios of such churches relative to the Black population are more likely to elect Black party leaders. To test this, I compile a novel dataset combining congregational membership reports from the U.S. Religion Census with original data on local party leadership collected from county and state party websites. Using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, I estimate the effect of church density and congregant ratios on the presence of Black party leaders. The findings contribute to understanding the institutional and community-level factors shaping descriptive representation in local party structures.

Author

• Joy Divine Rhodes, The University of Oklahoma