Kiana Cox is a research associate at Pew Research Center, where she works on the Center’s domestic polling about religion. She predominantly contributes to the Center’s work on race and religion, with particular attention to African American communities. Cox earned her doctorate in sociology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Prior to joining the Center, Kiana was an assistant professor and Associate Director of Graduate Studies in Sociology at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She is a contributing author of reports such as Race in America 2019 and Americans Have Positive Views About Religion’s Role in Society, but Want It Out of Politics, as well as other shorter pieces exploring race and religion in the United States.
Kiana Cox
Expertise:
Publications
Faith Among Black Americans
Today, most Black adults say they rely on prayer to help make major decisions, and view opposing racism as essential to their religious faith.
Amid National Reckoning, Americans Divided on Whether Increased Focus on Race Will Lead to Major Policy Change
More Black adults now say the country has work to do to address racial inequality; attitudes of White adults have changed little since 2019.
Before protests, black Americans said religious sermons should address race relations
Six-in-ten black adults say it is important for houses of worship to address “political topics such as immigration and race relations.”
Most U.S. adults feel what happens to their own racial or ethnic group affects them personally
Black Americans are the most likely to say that what happens to people from their racial group affects them personally.
Race in America 2019
Most Americans (65%) – including majorities across racial and ethnic groups – say it has become more common for people to express racist or racially insensitive views since Trump was elected president.
Black men are less religious than black women, but more religious than white women and men
Research has shown that men in the United States are generally less religious than women. And while this pattern holds true among black Americans, black men are still a highly religious group.
