History and Sociology of American Black Church

Name: History and Sociology of American Black Church
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An examination of the History of the Black church, its roots, culture, prophetic tradition and contributions

Highest Rated

Created byEric Betts, Ph.D.

Last updated 7/2023

English

What you'll learn

Confidently articulate and communicate concerning the historical antecedents of the development of the African-American church in the United States.
Effectively and convincingly showcase your knowledge surrounding the history of the Black church, its roots, culture, and prophetic tradition
Be equipped to write, lecture and teach about black church contributions to black group identity, theology, politics, and the larger American society.
Persuasively identify trends that will define the Black church well into the next century.
Relate to the internal structure of the church and the reactions of the church to external and societal challenges.
Convey knowledge at a professional level concerning the political philosophy, social issues, preaching, and worship in the Black church.
Easily and comfortably identify the the commonalities and distinctive features of the seven major African American based denominations

Course content

5 sections • 17 lectures • 11h 58m total length

Introduction (Scholars in African and Afro American Religion)33:45
In this lecture we will introduce two significant scholars in African and African American Religions and begin to dispel misnomers concerning African religious practices
Introduction: Philosophy of West African Religion and its Influence31:06
In this lecture, we will follow up with your reading of the first chapter of "Slave Religion--The 'Invisible Institution,'" by Professor Albert J. Raboteau and explore African approaches to the Divine and religious identity in the "New World."
Introduction: Continuity and Discontinuity in the African Diaspora37:27
This lecture conducts a comparative study among Hatians, Afro Latin Americans, Afro West Indians and U.S. Blacks while examining which rituals or concepts were retained in the New World and those which disappeared.
African Religion and its Influence in the Diaspora: Lectures 1-3 and Ch. 1 and 2

A comparative study of Frazier and Herskovits--How African?41:01
Understanding the historical antecedents of the American Black Church
Religious Exercises by African Descendants in the Great Awakening25:37
In this lecture we analyze the published observations of Methodist preachers during the Great Awakening which identifies various Africanisms among Afro-Americans.
Comparative Demographic Studies of African Diaspora and Religion38:23
This lecture conducts a comparative demographic study among enslaved in the Americas and seeks to resolve the Frazier vs. Herskovits debate. It also analyzes African influence in U.S. Afro American religion
Afro American Conversions, Catechisms and White Resistance in Colonial America48:49
This lecture answers the following questions: What were the obstacles preventing the conversion of Afro Americans prior to the great awakening? What were the major reasons for Anglo American resistance or indifference concerning Afro American baptism? What was the appeal of the Great Awakening among the enslaved and freed persons?
Africanized Christianity in America

Black Leadership and White Resistance During the Great Awakening43:43
This lecture will help you articulate the biblical emphasis of revivalist preachers during the Great Awakening, key Afro American leaders during that era and their interpretation of conversion and baptism.
The Great Schism39:42
The objective of this lecture is to equip learners with the ability to write, teach and articulate the reasons for the split between the Northern and Southern churches and the rise of the Southern Baptist Convention and Methodist Episcopal Church South.
Ideological Challenges to Slave and Slaveholder Fellowship and Discipline42:40
This lecture will enable learners with the ability to provide instruction to their own community of learners on how Christian fellowship unintentionally undermined and disturbed the social order which was based on Afro inferiority and Anglo superiority, and eventually led to the independence and institutional control by Afro Americans preachers and members.
Religious Practices and Ethical Philosophy on the Plantation30:16
You will be expected to articulate how religious life was conducted outside of the walls of the church on the plantation under the threat of severe punishment.
Black Religion during the Great Awakening and Beyond

The History of the Black Baptist Conventions and Contributions to Black Freedom50:02
Students will become fluent in describing the relationship of Baptist polity and Black Independence within the Baptist faith tradition along with Black baptist organizational history.
History of the Black Methodists and Contributions to Black Advancement Pt 148:14
Student will be fluent in AME, AME Zion, and CME beginnings, its historical figures and its contributions to black advancement.
History of Black Methodists and Black Advancement Pt 2 and COGIC Roots55:02
Student will become fluent in the roots of the CME church and the origins of Black Pentecostalism
Quiz for Section 4 on the 7 Black Denominations

The Influence of the Black Pride Movement within the Church57:04
The student will understand both the influence and sociological limits of the black consciousness movement arising after the civil rights movement within the church
The Influence of the Civil Rights Movement and the Power to Mobilize51:49
The student will be able to show the connection between black church leadership and black political leadership in history and contemporary times.
Black Worship Music and the Struggle for Survival and Freedom43:36
The student will be able to convey as Professor James Cone stated, how black worship music "shapes and defines black being within a communal context."
Quiz for Section 5
Read The Black Church and the Twenty-First Century: Challenges...p. 382-404

Requirements

Basic understanding of American Christian thought and politics
No degrees or certificates needed; you will learn all you need to know

Description

This is a bible college and seminary level course in Ecclesiology and Black religion. Students will come to understand the Black church as it relates to the history of African Americans and to contemporary Black culture. The course will relate to the internal structure of the church and the reactions of the church to external and societal challenges. Students will be guided through the History of the Black church, its roots, culture, prophetic tradition and its contributions to black group identity, theology, politics, and the larger American society. Additionally, the course examines the political philosophy, social issues, preaching, and worship in the Black church.

Students who subscribe will be able to identify trends that will define the Black church well into the next century. The definition of the black church as an institution involves the seven historic American Black denominations: the African Methodist Episcopal Church; the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church; the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A.; the National Baptist Convention of America; the Progressive National Baptist Convention; the Church of God in Christ.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS:

Raboteau, Albert. Slave Religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1978.

Lincoln, C. Eric. The Black Church in the African American Experience. Durham, NC: Duke University Press Books, 1990.

SUPPLEMENTAL TEXTBOOKS:

Gates Jr., Henry Louis. The Black Church--This is My Story; This is My Song. New York: Penguin Press, 2021.

Reddie, Anthony C. Introducing James Cone. London: SCM Press, 2022.

RECOMMENDED READING

Douglas, Kelly Brown. The Black Christ. Maryknoll NY: Orbis Books, 2021.

Who this course is for:

Educators looking to foster a more inclusive dialogue of underrepresented history
Serious life-long learners of African American history and scholars concerned with social justice issues
Clergy who are interested in black church studies but are not interested in investing in seminary, looking for an affordable option

History and Sociology of American Black Church

What you'll learn

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Course content

Introduction3 lectures • 1hr 42min

Africanisms and Acculturation in Black Religion4 lectures • 2hr 34min

The Rise of the Afro American Preacher and Black Churches via the Awakening4 lectures • 2hr 36min

The Contribution of the 7 Denominations to the American Project Post-Slavery3 lectures • 2hr 33min

The Impact of the Black Liberation movements on the Modern Black Church3 lectures • 2hr 32min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: