What does this research mean for the field?

Spiritual harm within the Black Church is a structurally embedded form of institutional governance and covenantal breach that drives disaffiliation among Black Millennials and Generation Z, evidenced by a measurable gap between their positive relationship with Christianity as a tradition and their poorer relationship with the Black Church as an organization. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine how organizational governance and practices of conditional belonging in historically Black Protestant churches generate spiritual harm and prompt religious disaffiliation among younger generations.

September 2, 2026CultureOpen Access

Church Hurt as Institutional Formation: Sacred Governance, Covenantal Breach, and Disaffiliation Among Black Millennials and Generation Z

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Authors

IUIndhira M. Udofia

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Implication

Mixed-methods study reveals institutional spiritual harm in Black Millennials and Generation Z, indicating organizational governance practices drive church disaffiliation.

Key Points

To examine how organizational governance and practices of conditional belonging in historically Black Protestant churches generate spiritual harm and prompt religious disaffiliation among younger generations.
Conducted a concurrent embedded mixed-methods study combining a quantitative survey (N = 173) with qualitative semi-structured interviews (N = 8).
Sampled African American Millennials and Generation Z affiliated with Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal/Holiness traditions in the Southern United States.
Applied a sociotheological framework grounded in womanist and endarkened feminist epistemology.
Documented an institutional disconnect where 45.1% of participants reported a 'good' relationship with Christianity as a theological tradition, compared to only 31.8% reporting a 'good' relationship with the Black Church as an organization.
Identified that spiritual harm operates as structurally embedded institutional governance that regulates identity, disciplines desire, and enforces conditional communal belonging.

Cite This Study

Indhira M. Udofia (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a97e2f6c562ede874ec7762 https://doi.org/10.3390/culture2030025

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Implication

Mixed-methods study reveals institutional spiritual harm in Black Millennials and Generation Z, indicating organizational governance practices drive church disaffiliation.

Church Hurt as Institutional Formation: Sacred Governance, Covenantal Breach, and Disaffiliation Among Black Millennials and Generation Z

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Church Hurt as Institutional Formation: Sacred Governance, Covenantal Breach, and Disaffiliation Among Black Millennials and Generation Z

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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