Mixed heritage: What does it mean for the future of the Black Pentecostal Church?
Roy Francis looks at how the rise in the numbers of people describing themselves as mixed-race will impact Britain’s Black Pentecostal Church
One of the most pressing issues of our time – and one scarcely discussed in any formalised or organised way, certainly not within our churches – is the issue of mixed-race or, rather, multi-ethnic groups, as is the correct term used today. It’s a matter, if the statistics are anything to go by, that affects virtually every Caribbean family. Some would say it’s a crisis, and for others, possibly an existential one.
Not too long ago, if you referred to a person of Caribbean origin, you’d be talking about a person with two Black parents. Today, that has significantly changed, with most people of Caribbean heritage having a white parent or a white grandparent. It’s a reflection of the demographic changes and rise in interracial marriages that have taken place in Britain.
The statistic is revealing. According to the 2021 Census for England and Wales, almost 4.9% (around 3 million people) in the UK currently identify themselves as ‘mixed or multi-ethnic’ and are one of the largest and fastest ethnic groups in Britain. There are even projections that speculate that, by the end of the century, 30% of the UK population (which currently numbers 69.9 million) will be ‘mixed or multi-race’.
This change raises important questions. What are the implications of this to the development of the Black Church and the Black community, as well as (or more particularly for) Britain’s indigenous community?
Britain today is a much more inclusive and tolerant place for people of colour, where Caribbeans, Africans and various ethnic groups have evolved into a multicultural society. It’s a place where diversity is not only accepted but celebrated, and where overt discrimination that once characterised it is now outlawed. In this society, there is now a willingness to create opportunities for Black people and for people of colour, and the monocultural identity that once defined the society is fast disappearing, replaced by a more diverse and multinational one.
This ‘globalised hybrid’, the historian David Olusoga argues, represents a new vision of Britishness and the future. It’s one, he says, which should be celebrated, yet there are many people who are not that sure. For example, as the demographic trend is towards a mixed-race Britain, you would think that racial divide would become less pronounced, outdated or even eliminated. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. Paradoxically, Britain today seems to be as polarised along race as it has always been – some would even say more – with the country increasingly looking like America, where race is the significant dividing factor.
Love underpins most relationships, especially romantic ones, and this is where Christians and the church community find themselves in a quandary. The Bible says ‘God is love’ and includes that all-encompassing message of Paul: ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.’
While there is nothing to disagree with any of this – that the Christian message transcends culture; that the human capacity to love is universal; and that love knows no boundary – yet ‘love’ is not neutral; it is culturally contingent. How we love and who we love, the way we love, and who we think is beautiful or not, is often determined by cultural influences, which is shaped by history, traditions, values, culture and identity. These do not go away or become softened in mixed marriages and relationships, but, on the contrary, are likely to create additional questions, if not problems.
Some communities, like the African community, may feel that the trend to mixed-race communities applies more to Caribbeans than to themselves, believing their distinct culture and identity offer protection from such trends. Caribbeans once believed this too; however, as Africans and other new arrivals continue to be shaped by British culture, and as social and cultural blending intensifies, the significance of traditional cultural markers will likely diminish. Africans, like Caribbeans before, will not be immune to any of these, and, in time, will have to find their own identity, navigate a shared experience, seek out new opportunities, and confront their unique challenges, wherever and whenever they find them.
It’s not a question of whether interracial relationships are right or wrong – that’s a personal choice – but, as far as the Black community and the Black Church are concerned, the question is, how can the Black Pentecostal faith, its history, traditions and culture be maintained in diverse families? How can these can be passed down, so that future generations have a clear understanding of the history and spiritual identity of this important faith that has helped to shape a community and the country?
This is the core of the argument, and one that is not about whether mixed relationships are inherently good or bad, for that is simply the reality of contemporary British society. The important question – and one which the Black Church and the wider Black community should be discussing – is how do we preserve our faith, history, culture and heritage, while embracing the changing realities of the society? This is especially pertinent, as our children and grandchildren are increasingly growing up, looking less like us, and, more importantly, perhaps believing that the cultural distinctiveness of Caribbean worship and faith should be submerged into a global hybrid, rather than preserved as a distinctive, cultural faith.
ROY FRANCISFormer BBC producer, and author of Windrush and the Black Pentecostal Church.
Visit www.royfrancis.co.uk
