The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is a national, nonprofit think tank that conducts research on public policy issues concerning African-Americans and offers training and technical assistance to newly elected black officials.

Faith Communities and Urban Families Project published a 2003 research project conducted by the Morehouse College Leadership Center among residents of low-income housing projects and congregations in Indianapolis, Denver, Camden and Hartford.

The Public Influences of African-American Churches Project conducted focus groups and surveyed black congregations and church leaders over three years to learn about congregational involvement in elections and setting public policy since the civil rights era. Despite the existence of 8,000 black elected officials and dozens of black civic and lobbying organizations, the survey found that black churches […]

The Pew Research Center surveyed religious groups about their reactions to the 2006 elections, about religious mobilization in congregations and about attitudes toward 2008 presidential candidates. Data is presented for black Protestants.

The Faith Communities Today (FACT) surveys by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research and the Cooperative Congregations Studies Partnership include statistics on historically black denominations.

Survey Documentation and Analysis (using data from the General Social Surveys from 1972-2004) shows that 75.7 percent of blacks are Protestant, 6.5 percent are Catholic, 0.2 percent are Jewish, 7 percent are “Other” and 10.6 percent do not identify with a religious group.

The Black Catholic Information Mall has links to numerous groups and organizations.

Read an essay on BlackandChristian.com about black denominations; find a directory of local black churches around the country.

Michelle Gonzalez Maldonado is an associate professor of religious studies at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. Her interests include Afro-Cuban studies, feminist theologies and Hispanic religiosity. She wrote Sor Juana: Beauty and Justice in the Americas; Afro-Cuban Theology: Religion, Race, Culture and Identity; and Embracing Latina Spirituality: A Woman’s Perspective.