In the United States, Black youth, particularly females,13 are more likely to report increased religiosity, including greater involvement in religious activities, than White youth.3,6 Seventy-nine percent of Blacks, compared with 56% of the U.S. population, report that religion is very important in their lives.13 Furthermore, there are several distinct cultural and community practices that distinguish and enhance the prominence of religiosity and religious service attendance in Blacks14,15 and these behaviors might exert protective influences on other outcomes, such as alcohol use and misuse. Alcohol use and use disorders (AUD) are more common in White versus Black youth.16 Despite the greater prominence of religiosity in Black youth, the protective effect of religious involvement on alcohol use is markedly more evident in White youth with some studies finding weak to no association in Black youth.3,6,8 Thus, even though protective influences are at play in Black youth, whether religiosity serves as one such factor is unclear. Furthermore, even though Whites are more likely than Blacks to use alcohol at an early age and to progress to AUD, the negative social and health outcomes
