At a discussion with the new moderator of the Presbyterian Church USA today, a woman asked about the importance of her church reflecting its neighborhood. In her case, the church is surrounded by a couple predomenantly black neighborhoods and one predominitely white neighborhood.
Does diversity matter? One of the lynchpin differences I have always seen between liberal and conservative thought is in the importance of diversity. From my classically-liberal, conservative worldview, diversity is a biproduct of respect and equality. Begin with the basis that all men are created equal, have equal rights under the law, and have equality of opportunity in all things and this can and will lead to diversity - when diversy makes sense.
Sometimes, though, diversity won't make sense. As this woman pointed out, while the church feels like it needs to reflect the neighborhoods nearby, the black community has its own church. As long as nothing is being done to prevent blacks from joining her church, then the church is likely doing exactly what it needs to do. Should we, in the name of diversity, pressure people to come to one church over another in the name of diversity, even if it cuts against what they really want? How would that be different than keeping them out in the name of homogeny.
As we move toward a society that is more open to providing equality of opportunity, diversity will come. It won't come as an end in and of itself, but because diversity (of color, sex, intelligence, age, ideology, willingness to eat at Arby's, etc.) tends to make efforts stronger by creating a healthier challenge process for ideas.
