Ethnic diversity and leadership roles among Australian Protestant churchgoers in mono-ethnic and multi-ethnic congregations

Churches, as voluntary organizations, provide pathways for exercising civic engagement, building social capital, and even demonstrating skills for employment. Taking part in leadership roles within churches can be crucial to the development of identity and self-efficacy. Are these benefits available to all, or does ethnic background restrict the leadership positions available to congregants? Drawing on Australia’s National Church Life Survey we investigate how being an ethnic minority in a church affects the possibilities for and benefits of church involvement. We find that ethnic minority congregants are less likely to be elevated to leadership roles, except in areas that serve other ethnic minorities. We further find that these congregants are less likely to develop role-based self-efficacy as a result of volunteering. Given that this occurs in both mono-Anglo and multiethnic congregations, our findings reinforce the role of churches may take to perpetuate racial/ethnic discrimination even when they are
diverse organizations.