The U.S. has received an influx of “new immigrants,” drawn from many parts of the developing world, since 1968. These have, in turn, altered the demographics of congregations and denominations. Of all the denominations operating in metropolitan New York, Seventh-day Adventism has been impacted most dramatically by the changes. Its face has been transformed as it has shifted from a church of primarily Caucasians and Afro-Americans, each dominating separate conferences, to one that is now 90% new immigrant. This paper explores the tensions that emerged, as a result of the changed racial/ethnic balance, in the competition to control leadership positions and resources, initially in local congregations and later in the conferences, and the dynamics as these tensions have played out. Finally, it considers why such conflict has been especially strong within Adventism.
Tag: Seventh-day Adventists
From American Church to Immigrant Church
In 1945 Seventh-day Adventism in Metropolitan New York was divided administratively into two conferences, one of which had an almost completely Caucasian membership, the other Afro-American. Both groups grew substantially during the following twenty-five years, but this growth was accompanied by the beginning of a flow of immigrants who had become Adventists as a result of missionary activity in their homelands in the developing world. Since 1970, the influx of immigrants – and of conversions among their non-Adventist peers – has burgeoned, while American-born members, both black and white, have declined sharply in total number and precipitously as a proportion of the total. The data …
The Evolution and Current Issues of Seventh-day Adventism
Ronald Lawson was born into a devout Seventh-day Adventist family in Australia, and is still an active Adventist (or SDA). Trained in both history and sociology, he became eager to understand the dynamics of his church. In 1984 he launched an ambitious study of global Adventism. Over the next more than two decades, he travelled to 60 countries in all divisions of the world church, and completed long searching interviews with over 4,000 Adventists. These interviewees …
Seventh-day Adventist Responses to Branch Davidian Notoriety
The Branch Davidians were linked to the Seventh-day Adventist Church by their historical roots, the source of their members, their name (officially the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists), their identity, and their apocalyptic preoccupations, idiom, and paranoias. This paper examines the responses within Seventh-day Adventism to the sudden notoriety of the Branch Davidians. In so doing, it sheds new light on the Branch Davidian tragedy: …
Ronald L. Lawson Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Queens College, CUNY 