Sociologist’s Book Explores Keys to Multiethnic Church Membership
Gerardo Marti in class
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9/3/2004
Contact: Bill Giduz 704/894-2244 or bigiduz@davidson.edu
by Jonathan Crooms ' 04
Segregation is more prevalent in religious institutions than in any other institution in society, but it can be overcome by emphasizing other aspects of identity that are more important. That is the finding of Davidson College Assistant Professor of Sociology Gerardo Marti, in his new book, A Mosaic of Believers: Diversity and Innovation in a Multiethnic Church.”
Marti took the title of his book from a multiethnic church in Los Angeles known as Mosaic, to which he belonged, and which he studied. This 1,600-member church, originally established by Southern Baptists, meets in a variety of places from the auditorium of a high school in San Gabriel to the parking lot of a downtown nightclub. Its attenders are one-third Hispanic, one-third white, and one-third Asian.
Even though ninety-five percent of all churches in the United States are homogenous, Marti reveals in his book that Mosaic is evidence that religion can provide a viable base for multi-ethnic unity. Marti asserts that Mosaic’s emphasis on identities other than race and ethnicity is the key to its diversity.
Since Mosaic is located in Los Angeles, a national capital for artistic expression, many of its members work in professions that involve artistic creativity. As a congregation, the church actively embraces and incorporates dance, theatre, painting, sculpture, and graphic arts in its ministries.
With the average age of the Mosaic congregation in the mid-20s, while the national average age is in the mid-50s, Mosaic also shapes its identity around innovation and youth. The church embraces the facts that social change is quick, and that young people are assuming significant roles of leadership in society. Mosaic emphasizes open dialogue about current controversial issues and experimentation with church ritual, and delegates leadership roles based on commitment to the vision of being on mission for Jesus Christ, rather than length of membership and service.
Marti, the son of Cuban immigrants, grew up in a working class neighborhood in Southern California. He lived in a working class neighborhood of people from a variety of economic, social, and ethnic backgrounds, and he attended one of the most diverse high schools in the country. His ethnic heritage and upbringing spurred his interests in race and ethnicity from an early age.
He earned his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Southern California, and became an ordained pastor.
He organized missionary events abroad for another Southern California church for several years, but was attracted to move to LA and join Mosaic in 1995 as he learned about its values --- flexibility, openness to new ideas, and willingness to change -- and its diversity.
“My church was an anomaly,” commented Marti. “It was something that was different. Understanding the radical difference of diversity, I was introduced to a whole realm of questions and issues that I hadn’t considered before as a sociologist.”
Mosaic’s ethnic composition also made it an ideal research subject for Marti as he was searching for a topic for his Ph.D. dissertation. Initially, he was wary of using what many sociologists would describe as an unusual methodology to conduct his ethnographic research on Mosaic. Typical methodology involves someone from the outside trying to introduce himself into a foreign culture, win rapport and access, understand and then exit. As a member of the Mosaic congregation, Marti already had an “insider’s” rapport and access. His challenge was to make himself an outsider for the purposes of study.
“This type of approach may not have been acceptable 50 years ago,” asserted Marti. “In being an insider doing research on my own congregation, I was contributing to a new line of thinking about what it means to do ethnographic research in familiar settings.”
Marti is a first-year faculty member at Davidson, teaching "Introductory Sociology," "Ethnic Relations," and "Methods in Sociological Research." He is currently working on a second book, which extends the questions examined in A Mosaic of Believers.
Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,600 students. Since its establishment in 1837, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report magazine. Davidson is engaged in “Let Learning Be Cherished,” a $250 million campaign in support of student financial assistance, academic resources, and community life.
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