A Study of the Extent of Integration in an Interracial Parish and the Role of the Church in That Integration
Abstract
1 PurposeIt is the purpose of this thesis to study the extent of integration in a mixed Catholic parish and the role of the Church in that integration. The two main questions which are asked by this study are: 1) How well integrated is this mixed parish, and 2) What role has the Church played in that integration?The broad field of this investigation is that of race relations between Negro and white in a Northern urban parish.2 Background of ProblemThis study is set historically at a time when a reappraisal of race relations occupies a great part of the national consciousness, following the Supreme Court Decision of May, 1954, calling for the end of "separate but equal” school facilities, and the already strong upward advance of the Negro on the socio-economic scale.Though not as acute as the racial problem in the South, the Northern urban aspect of this social dilemma has features of its own Walch call for immediate study and practical solution. The pattern of segregation in housing remains the foremost barrier in the North to the Negro’s attainment of first class citizenship. Housing segregation leads to de facto school segregation and contributes to the lack of adequate housing for the Negro minority. This in turn leads to slum conditions with their ghetto isolation and mentality. This isolation of the minority in poor housing and overcrowded neighborhoods serves both as a barrier to the group's improvement and as a rationalization and buttress for the white’s prejudice. As part of the all encompassing vicious cycle of prejudice and inferior social position, housing is interdependent with all the other parts. As Myrdal points out in view of this interdependence, a change in one affects all the others. The area of housing and residential patterns with their important status value is central in the complex mosaic of prejudice and discrimination.
Subject Area
Sociology|Religion
Recommended Citation
Demers, Francis J, "A Study of the Extent of Integration in an Interracial Parish and the Role of the Church in That Integration" (1960). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI28673307.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI28673307
