Where Would You Go? Race, Religion, and the Limits of Pastor Mental Health Care in Black and Latino Congregations
A growing body of literature explores how religious congregations shape attitudes toward mental health in racial/ethnic minority communities. Such research has primarily focused on the views of Black clergy and congregants, limiting our ability to understand how the views of Black Christians might d...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Religions |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/12/1062 |
| _version_ | 1797501026204385280 |
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| author | Daniel Bolger Pamela J. Prickett |
| author_facet | Daniel Bolger Pamela J. Prickett |
| author_sort | Daniel Bolger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A growing body of literature explores how religious congregations shape attitudes toward mental health in racial/ethnic minority communities. Such research has primarily focused on the views of Black clergy and congregants, limiting our ability to understand how the views of Black Christians might differ from Christians in other racial/ethnic minority communities. We drew on focus groups with 14 pastors and interviews with 20 congregants from Black and Latino churches in Houston, Texas, to examine how church members make decisions about where to seek mental health care or direct others for help. We found that both Black and Latino Christians prefer seeking spiritual resources, like their pastor, when dealing with mental health issues, even though pastors feel limited in their ability to help congregants. The preferences of members of each racial/ethnic group, however, were driven by different logics. While Black Christians in this study sought spiritual resources based on perceived norms within the broader Black community, Latino Christians relied on pastoral care due to norms in their individual congregation. The results shed light on how religious beliefs, race/ethnicity, and social class intersect to shape attitudes toward mental health care in ways that have implications for potential partnerships between churches and mental health care providers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:12:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-28ff315f33a54803a78cbe4f1d3100f5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:12:21Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-28ff315f33a54803a78cbe4f1d3100f52023-11-23T10:22:05ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442021-11-011212106210.3390/rel12121062Where Would You Go? Race, Religion, and the Limits of Pastor Mental Health Care in Black and Latino CongregationsDaniel Bolger0Pamela J. Prickett1Department of Sociology, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USADepartment of Sociology, University of Amsterdam, 1012 VT Amsterdam, The NetherlandsA growing body of literature explores how religious congregations shape attitudes toward mental health in racial/ethnic minority communities. Such research has primarily focused on the views of Black clergy and congregants, limiting our ability to understand how the views of Black Christians might differ from Christians in other racial/ethnic minority communities. We drew on focus groups with 14 pastors and interviews with 20 congregants from Black and Latino churches in Houston, Texas, to examine how church members make decisions about where to seek mental health care or direct others for help. We found that both Black and Latino Christians prefer seeking spiritual resources, like their pastor, when dealing with mental health issues, even though pastors feel limited in their ability to help congregants. The preferences of members of each racial/ethnic group, however, were driven by different logics. While Black Christians in this study sought spiritual resources based on perceived norms within the broader Black community, Latino Christians relied on pastoral care due to norms in their individual congregation. The results shed light on how religious beliefs, race/ethnicity, and social class intersect to shape attitudes toward mental health care in ways that have implications for potential partnerships between churches and mental health care providers.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/12/1062pastorsrace/ethnicitymental healthcongregationshealth care |
| spellingShingle | Daniel Bolger Pamela J. Prickett Where Would You Go? Race, Religion, and the Limits of Pastor Mental Health Care in Black and Latino Congregations Religions pastors race/ethnicity mental health congregations health care |
| title | Where Would You Go? Race, Religion, and the Limits of Pastor Mental Health Care in Black and Latino Congregations |
| title_full | Where Would You Go? Race, Religion, and the Limits of Pastor Mental Health Care in Black and Latino Congregations |
| title_fullStr | Where Would You Go? Race, Religion, and the Limits of Pastor Mental Health Care in Black and Latino Congregations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Where Would You Go? Race, Religion, and the Limits of Pastor Mental Health Care in Black and Latino Congregations |
| title_short | Where Would You Go? Race, Religion, and the Limits of Pastor Mental Health Care in Black and Latino Congregations |
| title_sort | where would you go race religion and the limits of pastor mental health care in black and latino congregations |
| topic | pastors race/ethnicity mental health congregations health care |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/12/1062 |
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