Chapter Summaries
PART 1: THE NATURE, ORIGINS, AND HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF AFRICAN AMERICAN RELIGION
- What is African American religion?
- Africans in the Americas
- Beginnings of African American religion
- African American religion in the nineteenth century
- African American religion in the twentieth century
PART 2: MAJOR THEMES IN AFRICAN AMERICAN RELIGION
- Worldly change, or a new world?
- Religion, race, and racism
- The question of gender
- Dreams of democracy
- African American religion and economics
- Liberation theology
PART 3: ISSUES AND CONCERNS IN CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN AMERICAN RELIGION
Chapter 1
What is African American religion?
African American religion can be defined as the effort to make life meaningful, and to do so in response to the questions we ask about our existence and the world in which we live. African American religion over the years has been defined typically in terms of the beliefs and practices of a particular and dominant tradition, usually Christianity. Defining religion in terms of one dominant tradition leaves out recognition of the diversity and complexity of what it means to be African American and religious. Instead of defining it in terms of one tradition or belief system, African American religion is best understood as the process for making life meaningful. This process for making life meaningful is expressed in many different ways based on the differences between African Americans and their particular needs.
Chapter 2
Africans in the Americas
Both Catholics and Protestants participated in efforts to Christianize enslaved Africans. Successful Christianizing of Africans took place in large part because of two religious Great Awakenings in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. But even before this exposure to Christianity, Africans brought their gods to the Americas. Voodoo in North America dates back to the 1700s and similarly, some Africans were practicing Muslims who brought Islamic beliefs and practices with them. Nevertheless, religious conversion did not affect the status of Africans because they remained slaves. Some Africans rejected theism altogether and instead relied on an approach to life centered on human creativity and ingenuity. Diversity defines the religious landscape of African life prior to the nineteenth century
Chapter 3
Beginnings of African American religion
To protect the system of slavery, slaveholders developed strategies for monitoring the activities of slaves. Some allowed slaves to hold services or incorporated them into services for whites, but slaves also held covert religious gatherings. Covert gatherings in “hush arbors” gave slaves an opportunity to worship in ways consistent with their personal style and also gave them opportunities to plot against the system of slavery. Visible African churches began to develop around the same time as these secret meetings shaped and gave rise to various cultural traditions such as spirituals. Missionary activities on the part of blacks begin to develop before the nineteenth century and included Canada and the Caribbean. Secret meetings also served as locations for the continued growth of African-based traditions as well as early practices we now associate with humanism.
Chapter 4
African American religion in the nineteenth century
African-based traditions developed societies and other organizational features that gave these traditions more structure and reach. Islam continued through the presence of small communities in some southern states and through the writings and activities of a few prominent figures. The first African American Methodist denominations and Baptist Conventions developed through the collaboration of independent African American churches. Churches undertook foreign mission work in addition to domestic missions in the south. Reconstruction resulted in ministers moving into political positions for the short term. The Holiness Movement resulted in the development of churches that extend their doctrine and practices beyond salvation to a call for sanctification or holiness. Humanism also grew in African American communities and its influence is visible in the blues and in folktales, as well as in the testimonies of missionaries working in the south.
Chapter 5
African American religion in the twentieth century
The twentieth century witnessed a tremendous expansion of religious options, each in competition for members. The importance of African American churches is debated as some focused on spiritual renewal and others combined that with social justice work. Religious leadership changed to reflect the skills of new members and the changing foci of religious organizations. Pentecostalism became the fastest growing religious orientation in African American communities. The global reach of African American religious traditions gained momentum. Many non-church affiliated groups soon took over many social functions previously undertaken by churches. Membership in African American churches declined during several decades of the twentieth century, and when African Americans returned they did so for some reasons that aren’t attached to spiritual commitment. Black identity and black nationalism became major areas of doctrinal and practical concern.
Chapter 6
Worldly change, or a new world?
The question of what religious organizations should privilege was tied to their doctrine and creeds. The Great Migration resulted in new needs and new methods of naming and meeting African American spiritual and physical needs. Religious organizations often changed their opinions on whether to privilege the soul or social transformation. The civil rights movement centered the conversation concerning what religious organizations should be doing. Religious organizations were at times the target of those seeking to maintain the political status quo.
Chapter 7
Religion, race, and racism
Where there was friction within African-based traditions it tended to revolve around the language used in ritual and difficulties between African Americans and Latinos. The Nation of Islam addressed difficulties with race and racism in the United States by positioning African Americans as a superior people. Images of God and Jesus Christ as Black served as a visual critique of anti-black racism. Some pushed for reparations as a way of addressing anti-black racism in secular and religious organizations. Black humanism is first used in the 1970s as a way to describe African Americans who do not ascribe to supernatural beliefs. Also during this time, white American and African American Christians were confronted with the residue of slavery and legal discrimination within their churches.
Chapter 8
The question of gender
It is often the case that the role of women in religious communities mirrors social regulations regarding the difference between the genders. Most churches did not begin ordaining women until the twentieth century. Excess to ordination has not meant equal opportunities for key leadership positions such as serving as a bishop in Methodist denominations. Spiritual churches and Pentecostal churches have been more open than others to women holding leadership positions. The Roman Catholic Church does not allow the ordination of women. The Nation of Islam’s national spokesperson is a woman, and she is also the leader of a prominent mosque in Atlanta; but she is the only woman holding this type of authority. Women in African-based traditions such as Santería are able to serve as priestesses of deities, with the exception of Orula. Existing limitation on the roles of women in African-based traditions are often discussed in terms of differences between men and women.
Chapter 9
Dreams of democracy
The Jeremiad was a style of presentation that critiqued wrongdoing and promised judgment and punishment if behavior was not improved. This Jeremiad style was often used to critique the US and western society. However, some religious communities embraced capitalism and democracy, and only pushed for the full inclusion of African Americans in the workings of these two. For some, socialism was more in line with the teachings of the Bible and they argued it should replace capitalism. Some religious communities believed neither capitalism nor socialism were productive for African Americans, but instead advocated for a nationalism based on black power and black consciousness. Churches and other organizations developed religious programs and outreach efforts meant to advance their particular take on the proper economic and political arrangements for African Americans. The response of religious institutions to issues of economics and politics was tied to their reading of scripture and their assessment of manifest destiny and chosen people status for African Americans.
Chapter 10
African American religion and economics
On some level, the economic success of its followers has always been important for African American religion. Education was seen as a way to secure economic advancement through the attainment of needed skills and talents. Churches developed programs and community development organizations to address issues of poverty and urban decay. Twentieth-century megachurches became synonymous with the prosperity gospel movement. Prosperity gospel teachings claim it is God’s will for Christians to have wealth and spiritual health. The Bible is believed to contain the keys to prosperity for those who study it, meditate on it and in their thinking and living practice its principles of wholeness. The Nation of Islam developed an economic plan meant to provide all the institutions and businesses needed to create economic independence for African Americans. African-based traditions and spiritual churches understood economic well-being can be achieved through proper attention to and harnessing of spiritual forces. African American humanism understood economic development as an essential component of full humanity in that it allows for a sense of self-worth and affords resources necessary for the further development of healthy life options for all.
Chapter 11
Liberation theology
Some of the basic claims made in black and womanist theologies were already present in the religious thought of slaves and early black church members. The social gospel movement was embraced by African American Christians as a way to combine their Christian commitment with their sense of social justice. Black theology develops as an effort to combine black power and the best of the Christian tradition – Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Black theology considered the social gospel “too soft” and too content to think about the freedom of African Americans in terms acceptable to the dominant society (as opposed to development of a liberation agenda that privileged African Americans). Womanist theology develops as a corrective to black theology in that it seeks to point out the sexism in black theology and highlight the history, experience, and voices of African American women. Both womanist and black theologies develop through the influence of Protestant and Catholic scholars.
Chapter 12
Sex and sexuality
A love-hate relationship with the physical body historically informs how African American religious traditions address issues such as sex. Most African American religions maintain that sex is appropriate only within the context of marriage between a man and a woman. Sacred texts and tradition are used to justify perspectives on sex and sexuality. More liberal religious groups provide education and services to prevent sexual diseases, understanding that waiting until marriage is not a practical requirement for sexual activity. Heterosexuality is considered the only proper arrangement for the expression of sexual desire, and homosexuality is considered a moral problem, a sin. Some religious organizations work to be open and affirming communities that embrace gay marriage. HIV/AIDS has been one of the biggest challenges to religious organizations in that it typically brings together a range of touchy issues: gender, sex, sexuality, drugs, and health care. Partnerships with “secular” organizations provide religious communities with ways to secure education programs, prevention strategies, and support related to issues such as HIV/AIDS.
Chapter 13
Hip hop and the new ‘look’ of religion
Hip hop borrows from earlier cultural forms of expression but emerges in the 1970s as a unique set of practices. Hip hop culture is composed of at least these elements: graffiti art, break dancing, DJing, rap music, style of dress and speech. There are three often overlapping styles of rap music – status, progressive, and gangsta rap. Often, artists incorporate elements of the Nation of Islam, the Five Percent Nation, and Sunni Islam into their lyrics, based on personal commitment to these faiths. Christianity is represented through artists who see their talent as an opportunity to spread the message of Christ through explicitly Christian rap. Hip hop is the cultural basis for a new church movement called the Hip Hop Church. Traditional Christian denominations are beginning to incorporate elements of hip hop culture into their worship in order to attract and keep young people within their congregations. KRS-One’s Temple of Hip Hop presents hip hop culture as a new form of religion, complete with its own covenant, ministers, doctrines, practices, and institutions.
Chapter 14
The new ‘nones’
The percentage of Americans who do not claim a particular religious community has increased significantly over the past twenty years. The number of African Americans in this group has also increased, almost doubling during the same period. Publicly claiming humanism or atheism within African American communities can result in being ostracized and having one’s morals and ethics brought into question by African Americans and the larger society: double trouble. Many ‘Nones’ participate in humanist/atheist organizations that are critical of traditional religious traditions, and these organizations use meetings, lobbying, lawsuits, publications, public billboards, etc., to get their points across. Humanist/atheist organizations – often referenced as a humanist or atheist movement – have made efforts to increase the number of African Americans holding membership and who participate in their activities. Frustrated with what is often a lack of understanding concerning issues of race, some African American humanists/atheists have created their own organizations for support and advancement of their agenda – including African Americans for Humanism. Social media have become a significant source of community and support for African Americans who participate in online groups and discussions, or who tune into internet radio programs. Attention to humanists/atheists who are critical of traditional religion is helpful for an understanding of religion because information so gathered tells us something about the ebb and flow – the changes and consistencies – of what we have labeled African American religion.