Using Large‐Scale Location Data to Examine Racial Diversity and Segregation in Church Attendees’ Home Neighborhoods

Abstract

The racial diversity of churches has been a longstanding topic of interest in the social science of religion. Studies have historically found low levels of racial diversity within churches—but some evidence suggests that diversification is increasing. However, past research has not addressed racial segregation in another significant setting: church attendees’ home neighborhoods. Our article illustrates how large‐scale location data collected from smartphones can estimate the average racial demographics of where church attendees live. Our findings show that church attendees in Omaha, Nebraska—especially those attending Evangelical Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Mainline Protestant churches—live in more homogenously white census blocks than the average census block in the city.