Abstract
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Church membership among Black Christians has been one of the fastest growing trends in the United Kingdom. The past two decades have seen dramatic growth in Black church membership of nearly 20%, especially among Nigerian and London-based churches, despite a general decline of church membership across the UK. However, this spiritual phenomenon is entirely underresearched. Churchgoers of African and Caribbean descent participate in Britain’s spiritual homes known as the Black Majority Church (BMC), where over half the membership is of African ancestry. There are over 3,000 BMCs throughout the UK, providing service to 300,000 church members, most of which are concentrated in London. Pentecostalism remains the most popular denomination among BMCs. Many of these church homes will also have strong West African influences, as the majority of Britain’s Black Africans are immigrants from Nigeria. The unique experiences of Nigerian-British youth, however, have been largely ignored although they are experiencing a tumultuous period of adolescence challenged with insecurity, violence, school expulsion, racism, and disenfranchisement. This study, known as the Training the Child Study, examined how participation in the church with a majority Black membership impacted cultural pride, and identity development among Nigerian and Black adolescents through positive cultural engagement in the fall of 2008. The broader research query sought to understand the potential impact a culturally-reflective community has upon identity development among Black youth. Findings affirmed the significance of cultural connectedness among Black British youth to offer reaffirmation during a period of development. Parents were the best purveyors of mores and values, viewed by youth as inherently African, and separate from Black culture in general. Increased connection to African identity was apparent, with greater disconnect in Black identity due to stigmatization of Blacks as a racial group in Britain.
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