With funding from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., Research Services has recently undertaken the first-ever study of African-American, Hispanic, and Korean members of the PCUSA--the three largest minority groups in the denomination. Overall, about 2.7 percent of PCUSA members are African American, 0.9 percent are Hispanic, and 1.6 percent are Korean. This study gives us sufficient information about these minority groups to be able to make comparisons with existing data from the Presbyterian Panel that describe the white majority (93 percent of all members are white, non-Hispanic).
The table compares the three samples (African-American, Hispanic, and Korean PCUSA members) to two comparison groups--white, non-Hispanic PCUSA members (data from the Presbyterian Panel) and the U.S. adult population (data from the U.S. Census Bureau or the General Social Survey).
As can be seen, the typical white PCUSA member is a native-born American, married with two children, but older than the average American. Six in ten members are female. Compared to this, African-American members are slightly older, somewhat more likely to be female, less likely to be married, and more likely to have been divorced. Hispanic members are younger than white members and more likely to be foreign-born (most often in Mexico). Of the three groups, Korean members are most different from the typical white Presbyterian--they are younger, evenly divided between men and women, more likely to be currently married, less likely to have been divorced. In addition, almost all Korean Presbyterians are first-generation Americans.
| Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| African- | White | Adult | |||
| American | Hispanic | Korean | Non-Hisp. | Pop. | |
| Members | Members | Members | Members | of U.S. | |
| Median age (years) | 57 | 50 | 45 | 55 | 45 |
| Percent 65 years of age or older | 34% | 22% | 10% | 35% | 17% |
| Female | 70% | 62% | 51% | 61% | 56% |
| Born in U.S (including Puerto Rico). | 95% | 82% | 1% | 99% | 92% |
| If not born in U.S., median years in U.S. | 20 | 28 | 18 | -- | -- |
| Currently married | 60% | 72% | 89% | 77% | 48% |
| Ever-divorced (if ever-married) | 24% | 18% | 6% | 17% | 38% |
| Median number of children | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Formal education: | |||||
| No more than high school | 21% | 40% | 25% | 16% | 46% |
| Some college or college graduate | 49% | 45% | 48% | 60% | 45% |
| Graduate degree | 29% | 13% | 26% | 24% | 9% |
| Employment: | |||||
| Full-time | 46% | 43% | 29% | 32% | 57% |
| Part-time | 10% | 10% | 10% | 11% | 10% |
| Self-employed | 6% | 9% | 28% | 8% | -- |
| Retired | 40% | 25% | 9% | 30% | 12% |
| Annual family income: | |||||
| <$30,000 | 28% | 51% | 28% | 22% | 47% |
| $30,000-$59,999 | 35% | 29% | 32% | 34% | 23% |
| $60,000+ | 37% | 20% | 40% | 45% | 30% |
| Political preference: | |||||
| Democrat | 86% | 56% | 32% | 25% | 46% |
| Independent | 10% | 12% | 36% | 17% | 16% |
| Republican | 3% | 25% | 27% | 55% | 37% |
| Other | 2% | 7% | 4% | 3% | 1% |
| Current home: | |||||
| rented by you | 15% | 12% | 30% | 7% | 36% |
| owned by you free and clear of mortgage | 26% | 36% | 9% | 40% | -- |
| owned by you with a mortgage | 51% | 46% | 54% | 48% | -- |
| owns/is buying | -- | -- | -- | -- | 62% |
| Mean household size | 2.5 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 2.5 |
In general, Presbyterians are well-educated and have a good income. In these areas, African-American and Korean Presbyterians are fairly similar to the white majority. While about one-quarter of white, African-American, and Korean Presbyterians have a graduate degree, just 13 percent of Hispanic members do (a figure more in line with that for the general U.S. population).
While almost three-quarters of white, African-American, and Korean members have household incomes above $30,000, only one-half of Hispanic members do (this despite the fact that relatively fewer Hispanic members are retired).
Over half of white Presbyterians describe themselves as Republicans (55 percent), yet a large majority of African-American members (86 percent) and about half of Hispanic members (56 percent) are Democrats. Korean members, on the other hand, are more evenly split--one-third are Democrats, one-third are Independents, and one-quarter are Republicans.
Homeownership is the norm among members in all four racial-ethnic groups, although Korean members are somewhat more likely to be renters. Among homeowners, the majority have a mortgage on their homes. The average household size is somewhat larger among Korean and Hispanic members than among African- American and white members.
While these figures reveal differences among these groups, they also show that, in many cases, racial-ethnic Presbyterians are more similar to other Presbyterians than to Americans in general.
In the next article, we'll present additional information about the similarities and differences among these groups. If you're interested in a 4-page summary, Send a $3 check (payable to, and in care of) Research Services, PC(USA) at the 100 Witherspoon address in Louisville, request the Racial-Ethnic Presbyterian Summary.
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