AAAS 314: Black Church in America

AAAS 314: The Black Church in America

This course covers the “visible” church, the “invisible” church, and the Black church as an “invisible institution,” and shows how agency is ascribed through the Black church. The course covers the history, heritage, roles, social and spiritual theology and dynamics of the Black church and situates the Black church within the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, with Africa as the beginning site for understanding the Black church and its transmigration from its African roots to the present. The class shows how the Black church developed through spiritual/sacred and hegemonic encounters, prompting the rhetorical question posed by a prominent Black church scholar: “What is African American religion?” Because of the dominant American hegemony encountered by the Black church, it must be understood as part of a larger freedom-seeking agendum that allowed its members to assert power over competing images to shape the meaning of theological allegiance, as well as the treatment of black bodies, through theology, rituals, rites, ceremonies and other religious practices. Topics covered in the course include identity through the Black church, the black conversion experience, worship styles, Black preaching, Black music, gender roles, sexuality, liberation theology, health practices, and the impact of COVID-19 on the Black church. (Same as REL 314.)