Download or read book Spiritual and Social Transformation in African American Spiritual Churches written by Margarita Simon Guillory and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-12-22 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the core of African American religion’s response to social inequalities has been a symbiotic relationship between socio-political activism and spiritual restoration. Drawing on archival material and ethnographic fieldwork with African American Spiritual Churches in the USA, this book examines how their spiritual and social work can shed light on the interplay between corporate activism and individual spirituality. This book traces the development of this "politico-spiritual" approach to injustice from the beginning of the twentieth century through the opening decade of the twenty-first century, using the work of African American Spiritual Churches as a lens through which to observe its progression. Addressing subjects such as spiritual healing, support of the homeless, gender equality and the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, it demonstrates that these communities are clearly motivated by the dual concerns of the soul and the community. This study diversifies our understanding of the African American religious landscape, highlighting an approach to social injustice that conjoins both political and spiritual transformations. As such, it will be of significant interest to scholars of religious studies, African American studies and politics.

Download or read book Reviving the Spirit written by Beverly Hall Lawrence and published by Grove Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses the historic role of the church in the African American community and chronicles the revival of the church as a center of community, social change, economic reform, and urban renewal.

Download or read book Forged in the Fiery Furnace written by Diana L. Hayes and published by Orbis Books. This book was released on 2012 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: African American spirituality was forged in the fiery furnace of slavery, segregation, and ongoing racial discrimination in both church and society. But African Americans are a people who are strengthened rather than weakened by their experience. This volume traces how African Americans have articulated their faith and love of God in language, song, and daily living. Beginning with its spiritual roots in Africa, Hayes shows how African American spirituality encompassed and incorporated the experience of slavery and the encounter with Christianity. Remarkably, African American slaves were able to find in the religion of their oppressors a message of hope, affirmation, and resistance. Through stories, song, distinctive forms of prayer, celebration, and prophetic witness, Hayes shows how the spirituality of African Americans has nurtured their survival as well as promoting action on behalf of the community and the greater society.

Download or read book The Spiritual Lives of Young African Americans written by Almeda M. Wright and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Spiritual Lives of Young African Americans examines the role of spirituality in adolescent development and the ways that youth negotiate their world, and offers a vision of life for young people who are too often surrounded by death.

Download or read book The Spiritual Churches of New Orleans written by Claude F. Jacobs and published by Univ. of Tennessee Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New Orleans Spiritual Churches constitute a distinctive African American belief system. Influenced by Catholicism, Pentecostalism, Spiritualism, and Voodoo, the group is a New World syncretic faith, similar to Espiritismo, Santeria, and Umbanda. In The Spiritual Churches of New Orleans, Claude Jacobs and Andrew Kaslow combine a historical account of the emergence of this religion with careful ethnographic description of current congregations. Complementing their text with striking photographs, the authors convey the ecstasy at the heart of the Spiritual experience. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Download or read book Esotericism in African American Religious Experience written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2014-11-06 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Esotericism in African American Religious Experience: “There is a Mystery” ..., Stephen C. Finley, Margarita Simon Guillory, and Hugh R. Page, Jr. assemble twenty groundbreaking essays that provide a rationale and parameters for Africana Esoteric Studies (AES): a new trans-disciplinary enterprise focused on the investigation of esoteric lore and practices in Africa and the African Diaspora. The goals of this new field — while akin to those of Religious Studies, Africana Studies, and Western Esoteric Studies — are focused on the impulses that give rise to Africana Esoteric Traditions (AETs) and the ways in which they can be understood as loci where issues such as race, ethnicity, and identity are engaged; and in which identity, embodiment, resistance, and meaning are negotiated.

Download or read book Hidden Wholeness written by Michael I. N. Dash and published by Pilgrim Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Individuals and groups. Models of current ministries are also provided to help pastors, active church members, and "seekers" experience spiritual renewal by tapping the wellspring of African American spirituality.

Download or read book The Black Spiritual Movement written by Hans A. Baer and published by Univ. of Tennessee Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spiritual churches in the United States represent one of several religious movements that African Americans have adopted in their efforts to cope with mainstream society. In this groundbreaking work, first published in 1984, Hans A. Baer explores the richness and creativity of Black Spiritualism, setting forth an illuminating ethnography of the movement that corrects numerous stereotypes of African American religion. Baer shows that the Spiritual churches blend diverse elements, borrowing aspects of African American Protestantism, American Spiritualism, Roman Catholicism, Voodoo, and black ethno-medicine, occasionally even including aspects of Islam, Judaism, New Thought, and Ethiopianism. He describes not only the history, structure, ideology, and practices of the churches but also the process of syncretism within them and their role within the African American community. In addition, Baer examines how the Spiritual movement juxtaposes elements of protest and accommodation to racism and class stratification in U.S. society This second edition includes a new preface and a new epilogue in which Baer discusses his methodology in researching the Black Spiritual Movement, describes his meetings with pastors and congregation members, and summarizes his most recent research in the field.

Download or read book The Contemporary Black Church written by Jason E. Shelton and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2024-08-13 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charts the changing dynamics of religion and spirituality among African Americans Recent decades have ushered in a profound transformation within the American religious landscape, characterized by an explosion of religious diversification and individualism as well as a rising number of “nones.” The Contemporary Black Church makes the case that the story of this changing religious landscape needs to be told incorporating more data as it applies specifically to African Americans. Jason E. Shelton draws from survey data as well as interviews with individuals from a wide variety of religious backgrounds to argue that social reforms and the resulting freedoms have paved the way for a pronounced diversification among African Americans in matters of faith. Many African Americans have switched denominational affiliations within the Black Church, others now adhere to historically White traditions, and a record number of African Americans have left organized religion altogether in recent decades. These changing demographics and affiliations are having a real and measurable effect on American politics, particularly as members of the historic Black Church are much more likely than those of other faiths to vote and to strongly support government policies aimed at bridging the racial divide. Though not the first work to note that African Americans are not monolithic in their religious affiliation, or to argue that there is a trend toward secularism in Black America, this book is the first to substantiate these claims with extensive empirical data, charting these changing dynamics and their ramifications for American society and politics.

Download or read book Contemplation Proclamation and Social Transformation written by Edgar Trey Clark III. and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation is a study of the homiletical theology of Black contemplative preaching, a meditative mode of proclamation that weds mystical and theological insights to promote spiritual and social transformation. Unfortunately, though key aspects of Black contemplative preaching can be seen in the life and speech of some prominent Black preachers, it is one of the most overlooked streams of preaching inside and outside of Black church contexts. This lack of awareness and acknowledgment of the Black contemplative preaching stream seems to suggest that it is a mode of proclamation that, like other contemplative practices in the Black church, is hidden in plain sight. Thus, drawing on Black Church Studies, Christian spirituality, and especially the field of homiletics, this study aims to increase the visibility of Black contemplative preaching by naming and describing how its homiletical theology is embodied in the life and proclamation of Black preachers in the past and present. As such, it is the first extensive examination of the history, theology, and practices of Black contemplative preaching. Chapter one proffers a select history of Black contemplative preaching. Specifically, it examines the historical and cultural roots of Black contemplative preaching in Africa and Europe, the emergence of Black contemplative preaching in North America, and three important theo-rhetorical distinctives that characterize Black contemplative preaching. Drawing on the three distinctives proposed in chapter one, chapters two through four provide a select examination of how the distinctives manifest in the life, thought, and preaching of three twentieth-century African American preachers: Howard Thurman, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barbara Harris. The final chapter explores the diversity, endurance, and relevance of Black contemplative preaching. Ultimately, this study demonstrates that Black contemplative preaching is a historic and enduring stream of homiletical theology that offers much-needed theological wisdom amidst the challenges of contemporary society.

Download or read book Every Time I Feel the Spirit written by Timothy Nelson and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dreams and visions, prophetic words from God about "dusty souls," speaking in tongues while "in the spirit"—narratives of these and similar events comprise the heart of Every Time I Feel the Spirit. This in-depth study of a Black congregation in Charleston, South Carolina provides a window into the tremendously important yet still largely overlooked world of African American religion as the faith is lived by ordinary believers. For decades, scholars have been preoccupied with the relation between Black Christianity, civil rights, and social activism. Every Time I Feel the Spirit is about black religion as religion. It focuses on the everyday experience of religion in the church, congregants' relationships with God, and the role that God and Satan play in congregants' lives—not only as objects of belief but as actual agents. It explores the concepts of religious experience and religious ritual, while emphasizing the attributions that people make to the operation of spiritual forces and beings in their lives. Through interviews and field work, Nelson uncovers what religious people themselves see as important about their faith while extending and refining sociological understandings of religious ritual and religious experience.

Download or read book Black Church Studies written by Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religious Studies Over the last thirty years African American voices and perspectives have become essential to the study of the various theological disciplines. Writing out of their particular position in the North American context, African American thinkers have contributed significantly to biblical studies, theology, church history, ethics, sociology of religion, homiletics, pastoral care, and a number of other fields. Frequently the work of these African American scholars is brought together in the seminary curriculum under the rubric of the black church studies class. Drawing on these several disciplines, the black church studies class seeks to give an account of the broad meaning of Christian faith in the African American experience. Up to now, however, there has not been a single, comprehensive textbook designed to meet the needs of students and instructors in these classes. Black Church Studies: An Introduction will meet that need. Drawing on the work of specialists in several fields, it introduces all of the core theological disciplines from an African American standpoint, from African American biblical interpretation to womanist theology and and ethics to sociological understandings of the life of African American churches. It will become an indispensable resource for all those preparing to serve in African American congregations, or to understand African American contributions to the study of Christian faith. Looks at the diverse definitions and functions of the Black Church as well as the ways in which race, class, religion, and gender inform its evolution. Provides a comprehensive view of the contributions of African American Scholarship to the current theological discussion. Written by scholars with broad expertise in a number of subject areas and disciplines. Will enable the reader to relate the work of African American theological scholars to the tasks of preaching, teaching, and leading in local congregations. Will provide the reader the most comprehensive understanding of African American theological scholarship available in one volume. Stacey Floyd-Thomas, Brite Divinity School Juan Floyd-Thomas, Texas Christian University Carol B. Duncan, Wilfrid Laurier University Stephen G. Ray Jr., Lutheran Theological Seminary-Philadelphia Nancy Lynne Westfield, Drew University Theology/Theology and Doctrine/Contemporary Theology

Download or read book Voodoo written by Jeffrey E. Anderson and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2024-03-20 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite several decades of scholarship on African diasporic religion, Voodoo remains underexamined, and the few books published on the topic contain inaccuracies and outmoded arguments. In Voodoo: An African American Religion, Jeffrey E. Anderson presents a much-needed modern account of the faith as it existed in the Mississippi River valley from colonial times to the mid-twentieth century, when, he argues, it ceased to thrive as a living tradition. Anderson provides a solid scholarly foundation for future work by systematizing the extant information on a religion that has long captured the popular imagination as it has simultaneously engendered fear and ridicule. His book stands as the most complete study of the faith yet produced and rests on more than two decades of research, utilizing primary source material alongside the author’s own field studies in New Orleans, Haiti, Cuba, Senegal, Benin, Togo, and the Republic of Congo. The result serves as an enduring resource on Mississippi River valley Voodoo, Louisiana, and the greater African Diaspora.

Download or read book Italian American Pentecostalism and the Struggle for Religious Identity written by Paul J. Palma and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-07-30 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While many established forms of Christianity have seen significant decline in recent decades, Pentecostals are currently one of the fastest growing religious groups across the world. This book examines the roots, inception, and expansion of Pentecostalism among Italian Americans to demonstrate how Pentecostalism moves so freely through widely varying cultures. The book begins with a survey of the origins and early shaping forces of Italian American Pentecostalism. It charts its birth among immigrants in Chicago as well as the initial expansion fuelled by the convergence of folk-Catholic, Reformed evangelical, and Holiness sources. The book goes on to explain how internal and external pressures demanded structure, leading to the founding of the Christian Church of North America in 1927. Paralleling this development was the emergence of the Italian District of the Assemblies of God, the Assemblee di Dio in Italia (Assemblies of God in Italy), the Canadian Assemblies of God, and formidable denominations in Brazil and Argentina. In the closing chapters, based on analysis of key theological loci and in lieu of contemporary developments, the future prospects of the movement are laid out and assessed. This book provides a purview into the religious lives of an underexamined, but culturally significant group in America. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars of Pentecostalism, Religious Studies and Religious History, as well as Migrations Studies and Cultural Studies in America

Download or read book The Upper Room Dictionary of Christian Spiritual Formation written by Keith Beasley-Topliffe and published by Upper Room Books. This book was released on 2017-02-01 with total page 754 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This reference book, compiled with the help of more than 50 scholars from many denominations, provides a basic guide to Christian spiritual formation through more than 470 entries. It covers such subjects as great spiritual teachers of the past and present, important topics in Christian spirituality, and ways to pray and lead groups in prayer and spiritual growth. Containing enough information to get you started but not so many details as to overwhelm, the entries in this dictionary answer such questions as: What is spiritual formation? What is grace? How does it help me grow? What is centering prayer? How do I do it? Who is Hildegard of Bingen? What did she write? How can I grow in forgiveness? What are Fowler's stages of faith? What are other ways of talking about stages of spiritual growth? This dictionary also includes a chart that compares various Christian spiritual traditions, plus a list of significant spiritual classics by title and author.

Download or read book African American Religion A Very Short Introduction written by Eddie S. Glaude Jr. and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014-08-27 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the first African American denomination was established in Philadelphia in 1818, churches have gone beyond their role as spiritual guides in African American communities and have served as civic institutions, spaces for education, and sites for the cultivation of individuality and identities in the face of limited or non-existent freedom. In this Very Short Introduction, Eddie S. Glaude Jr. explores the history and circumstances of African American religion through three examples: conjure, African American Christianity, and African American Islam. He argues that the phrase "African American religion" is meaningful only insofar as it describes how through religion, African Americans have responded to oppressive conditions including slavery, Jim Crow apartheid, and the pervasive and institutionalized discrimination that exists today. This bold claim frames his interpretation of the historical record of the wide diversity of religious experiences in the African American community. He rejects the common tendency to racialize African American religious experiences as an inherent proclivity towards religiousness and instead focuses on how religious communities and experiences have developed in the African American community and the context in which these developments took place. About the Series: Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.

Download or read book Somebody s Calling My Name written by Wyatt Tee Walker and published by Conran Octopus. This book was released on 1979 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tracing the relationship of black sacred music and social change, Wyatt Walker observes, ". . .if you listen to what black people are singing religiously, it will provide a clue as to what is happening to them sociologically." Walker traces the musical expressions of the black religious tradition from its roots in the "invisible church" of the slave society to its influence upon the black religious experience today. He challenges the black church to preserve this rich musical resource so that black sacred music will become one of the gifts of black people to the church universal [Publisher description]