"Highly Recommended" - CHOICE Reviews - Worship across the Racial Divide

More feedback continues to come from Worship across the Racial Divide. This one comes from CHOICE Reviews:

49-5448	ML3921	2011-18782 CIP
Humanities \ General
Marti, Gerardo.  Worship across the racial divide: religious music and the multiracial congregation.  Oxford, 2012.  266p bibl index afp ISBN 0-19-539297-3, $29.95; ISBN9780195392975, $29.95. Reviewed in 2012jun CHOICE.
This book is more scientifically grounded in research and study than the title suggests. Marti (sociology, Davidson College) spent more than two years studying the hypothesis that music and worship play an essential role in stimulating diversity in congregations. He found that the hypothesis is incorrect, and that though music and worship are important in multiethnic/multiracial congregations, what is important is not the performance of the service but rather the practices that surround the congregation in the absorption and production of the music. The author devotes a great deal of space to examining the sociological perspective of worship from a practice-based application. He tears down preconceived notions in contemporary worship scholarship about achieving racial diversity and a universal worship experience and about how churches need to focus on their structural practices if they wish to achieve diversity and ethnicity in their congregations. A scholarly, thought-provoking examination of this topic. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. -- B. L. Eden, Valparaiso University

5 Stars for "Worship across the Racial Divide" from Christianity Today

Christianity Today has chosen to review my newest book Worship across the Racial Divide: Religious Music and the Multiracial Congregation.  In addition to the enthusiastic review from Michael Emerson, a leading scholar of race and religion, the CT editors gave the book a full 5 stars. 


The review (and comments from readers) can be found here. 

Research on Multiracial Congregations that Does Not Yet Exist

I recently revisited an article I wrote published in 2010.  It struck me that the title of this brief article does not anticipate that nearly one-third describes the type of research we need on multiracial congregations that does not yet exist. 

Research on Multiracial Congregations that Does Not Yet Exist

First, we should expand more widely the scope of “diversity” examined in diverse congregations to more actively incorporate a broader scope of cultural experiences and ancestral backgrounds.

Second, we should pursue a more inclusive range of diverse congregations and avoid treating “multiracial churches” as a homogenous category; clearly, they are not.

Third, we should focus more attention on non-Christian congregations. 

St. Martin's Episcopal Church (Photo credit: joseph a)

Fourth, we should isolate significant arenas of diversification and investigate contemporary initiatives for diversification (and rigorous research will likely identify intriguing ironies and contradictions).

Fifth, we should exercise greater caution in our use of racial and ethnic categories as well as become better prepared for working through new and changing “multiracial identities.”

Finally, we should expand the use of multiracial churches as strategic arenas for data collection to address other interesting and important social dynamics.   

These suggestions--with expanded discussion and a number of relevant citations from research research--can be found here.

The Diverse Church as Musical Production

Reviews are beginning to come in for my new book Worship across the Racial Divide. The latest one is right here.

Review of Worship across the Racial Divide by Franklin Golden

A very special thanks to Franklin Golden, co-pastor of Durham Presbyterian Church who posted a very nice, very concise summary and response to my new book at the Faith and Leadership Blog at Duke Divinity.

Author Reading: Worship across the Racial Divide ~ Ch 3

Continuing a series of readings from my new book "Worship across the Racial Divide: Religious Music and the Multiracial Congregation" published with Oxford University Press. These feature short previews of each chapter and introduce you to some of the insights from the book.

From Part 1 "Confronting Popular Notions of Race and Worship", here's the beginning of Chapter 3 on African Americans as the Icon of "True Worship" in diverse churches.

listen to ‘Worship across the Racial Divide ~ excerpt Ch 3’ on Audioboo

The reading from the beginning of the book, Chapter 1, is here. Chapter 2 is here.

Hunger Games & Worship across the Racial Divide

Thanks to Sojourner's Magazine, I'm cool again. My book Worship across the Racial Divide is featured as "New and Noteworthy" on the same page as an article on the blockbuster Hunger Games.

New & Noteworthy

Author Reading: Worship across the Racial Divide ~ Ch 2

I'm continuing a series of readings from my new book "Worship across the Racial Divide: Religious Music and the Multiracial Congregation." These feature short previews of each chapter and introduce you to some of the insights from the book.

From Part 1 "Confronting Popular Notions of Race and Worship", here's the beginning of Chapter 2.

listen to ‘Worship across the Racial Divide ~ excerpt Ch 2’ on Audioboo

The reading from the beginning of the book, Chapter 1, is here.

Enjoy!

Worship across the Racial Divide: An Interview with Gerardo Marti

Historian and friend Paul Harvey posted at the Religion and American History blog a nice little interview with me about my book Worship across the Racial Divide.

Between Tuesday and Wednesday, it will be divided into a set of two posts.

The exchange includes a brief reflection on the relationship between the disciplines of history and sociology. Even more, these brief exchanges provide a glimpse into the core arguments of the book.

Author Reading: Worship across the Racial Divide

Starting today, I'm going to do a series of readings from my new book "Worship across the Racial Divide: Religious Music and the Multiracial Congregation." These will feature short previews of each chapter and introduce you to some of the insights from the book.

So, here's the beginning of the book, from Chapter 1.

listen to ‘Worship across the Racial Divide ~ excerpt Ch 1’ on Audioboo

Enjoy!