Religious Involvement and Self-Perception among Black Americans

Abstract

This study focuses on the relationships between the religious involvement of black Americans and two important dimensions of self-perception: self-esteem, or one's sense of personal worth, and personal mastery, or feelings of control over one's affairs. This article argues that participation in church communities may foster positive self-perception through the interpersonal supportiveness and positive reflected appraisals of coreligionists. Private devotional activities may also be linked with positive self-regard via processes of religious role taking. Analyses of data from the 1979–80 National Survey of Black Americans support these arguments with regard to self-esteem, but not personal mastery. In addition, the findings suggest that public religious participation buffers the negative influence of physical unattractiveness on self-esteem, while private religious devotion buffers the negative impact of chronic illness on self-esteem. The results shed new light on the contemporary psychosocial role of religious life among black Americans.