The Black Church has historically been a source of hope and
The Black Church has historically been a source of hope and
strength for the African American community. In 1990, the late
professor, C. Eric. Lincoln co-authored, The Black Church in the
African American Experience with Lawrence H. Mamiya. They
described the, "seven major historic black denominations: the African Methodist
Episcopal (AME) Church; the African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) Church;
the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church; the National Baptist
Convention, USA., Incorporated (NBC); the National Baptist Convention of
America, Unincorporated (NBCA); the Progressive National Baptist Convention
(PNBC); and the Church of God in Christ (COGIC)," as comprising "the black
Church."
Yet it is known that blacks were also members of predominantly white
denominations such as the Episcopal, Presbyterian, Congregational, United
Methodist and Roman Catholic churches. However, Lincoln and Mamiya chose
to confine 'the black Church,' to "those independent, historic, and totally black
controlled denominations, which were founded after the Free African Society of
1787 and which constituted the core of black Christians."
Since the publication of the Lincoln and Mamiya book, two new black
denominations have developed: The National Missionary Baptist Convention
(NMBC) and the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship (FGBCF). The FGBCF
does not refer to itself as a denomination.
We hope this section of BlackandChristian.com will serve as a resource for
information on the historically black Christian denominations and will inspire you
to learn the history of your particular denomination.
If you have information to add to this section or comments you would like to
make email: admin@blackandchristian.com.
Meanwhile, I invite you to read an essay on African American Religion in the
Nineteenth Century by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Professor
Laurie Maffly-Kipp. The essay was written as part of the Divining America:
Religion and the National Culture project of the National Humanities Center and
funded by a grant from the Lilly Endowment. The project provides resources for
teachers looking at American religion in the 17th,18th, 19th and 20th
centuries.
The following books are excellent reference works on the African American
religious experience:
C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya, The Black Church in the African American Experience,
(Durham: Duke University Press), 1990
Wardell J. Payne, Directory of African American Religious Bodies: A Compendium by the
Howard University School of Divinity (Washington, DC: Howard University Press), 1995.
RIGHTEOUS DISCONTENT
The Women's Movement in the Black
Baptist Church, 1880-1920
EVELYN BROOKS HIGGINBOTHAM
"If the period was so important for women but simultaneously a low point
for black Americans as a group, then how should we understand the
apparently contradictory politics of that time? Righteous Discontent
accentuates the positive, finding in the contradiction 'a creative tension that
both motivated and empowered black women to speak out.' Ms.
Higginbotham moves beyond the dichotomous thinking that has often
short-circuited our attempts to understand the situation of black women...An
important, sophisticated, and richly instructive book."
--Suzanne Lebsock, New York Times Book Review
"Higginbotham's book is populated with fascinating and accomplished
women...[Her] research is impeccable and her work both ambitious and
important. Righteous Discontent contributes significantly to the still
underappreciated history of the black church in America."
--Adele Logan Alexander, Washington Post Book World
"Higginbotham has pioneered a study of a long-neglected component of the
African-American experience. This book is a powerful and compelling story
of the religious life of African-American women and their resistance to
racism and sexism. Through Higginbotham's work, the voices of
African-American women, which have remained silent too long, emerge
distinct and bold."
--Jill Watts, Journal of American History
"A landmark contribution to American religious history."
--Choice
Austin, Allan D. African Muslims in Antebellum America: Transatlantic Stories and Spiritual Struggles. New York:
Routledge, 1997.
Baer, Hans A., and Singer, Merrill. African-American Religion in the Twentieth Century: Varieties of Protest and
Accommodation. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1992.
Brown, Karen McCarthy. Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991.
Frazier, E. Franklin.The Negro Church in America. New York: Schocken Books, 1964.
Fulop, Timothy E., and Raboteau, Albert J., eds. African-American Religion: Interpretive Essays in History and
Culture. New York: Routledge, 1997.
Gardell, Mattias. In the Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. C. Eric Lincoln Series
on the Black Experience. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1996.
Jacobs, Claude F., and Kaslow, Andrew J. The Spiritual Churches of New Orleans: Origins, Beliefs, and Rituals of
an African-American Religion. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1991.
Johnson, Paul E., ed. African-American Christianity: Essays in History. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994.
Levine, Lawrence W. Black Culture and Black Consciousness: Afro-American Folk Thought from Slavery to
Freedom. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.
Lincoln, C. Eric, and Mamiya, Lawrence H. The Black Church in the African American Experience. Durham, NC:
Duke University Press, 1990.
Long, Charles H. Significations: Signs, Symbols, and Images in the Interpretation of Religion. Philadelphia: Fortress
Press, 1986.
Marsh, Clifton E. From Black Muslims to Muslims: The Transition from Separatism to Islam, 1930 -- 1980. Metuchen,
NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1984.
Murphy, Joseph M. Santeria. An African Religion in America. Boston: Beacon Press, 1988.
Pitts, Walter F., Jr. 0 Ship of Zion: The Afro-Baptist Ritual in the African Diaspora. Religion in America Series. New
York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Raboteau, Albert J. A Fire in the Bones: Reflections on African-American Religious History. Boston: Beacon Press,
1995.
_____. Slave Religion: The "Invisible Institution" in the Antebellum South. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.
Ray, Benjamin C. African Religions: Symbol, Ritual, and Community. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1976.
Sanders, Cheryl J. Saints in Exile: The Holiness-Pentecostal Experience in African American Religion and Culture.
Religion in America Series. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Thompson, Robert Farris. Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro-American Art and Philosophy. New York: Random
House, 1983.
Watts, Jill. God, Harlem U.S.A.; The Father Divine Story. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992.
Wilmore, Gayraud S. Black Religion and Black Radicalism: An Interpretation of the Religious History of
Afro-American People. 2d ed. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1983.
strength for the African American community. In 1990, the late
professor, C. Eric. Lincoln co-authored, The Black Church in the
African American Experience with Lawrence H. Mamiya. They
described the, "seven major historic black denominations: the African Methodist
Episcopal (AME) Church; the African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) Church;
the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church; the National Baptist
Convention, USA., Incorporated (NBC); the National Baptist Convention of
America, Unincorporated (NBCA); the Progressive National Baptist Convention
(PNBC); and the Church of God in Christ (COGIC)," as comprising "the black
Church."
Yet it is known that blacks were also members of predominantly white
denominations such as the Episcopal, Presbyterian, Congregational, United
Methodist and Roman Catholic churches. However, Lincoln and Mamiya chose
to confine 'the black Church,' to "those independent, historic, and totally black
controlled denominations, which were founded after the Free African Society of
1787 and which constituted the core of black Christians."
Since the publication of the Lincoln and Mamiya book, two new black
denominations have developed: The National Missionary Baptist Convention
(NMBC) and the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship (FGBCF). The FGBCF
does not refer to itself as a denomination.
We hope this section of BlackandChristian.com will serve as a resource for
information on the historically black Christian denominations and will inspire you
to learn the history of your particular denomination.
If you have information to add to this section or comments you would like to
make email: admin@blackandchristian.com.
Meanwhile, I invite you to read an essay on African American Religion in the
Nineteenth Century by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Professor
Laurie Maffly-Kipp. The essay was written as part of the Divining America:
Religion and the National Culture project of the National Humanities Center and
funded by a grant from the Lilly Endowment. The project provides resources for
teachers looking at American religion in the 17th,18th, 19th and 20th
centuries.
The following books are excellent reference works on the African American
religious experience:
C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya, The Black Church in the African American Experience,
(Durham: Duke University Press), 1990
Wardell J. Payne, Directory of African American Religious Bodies: A Compendium by the
Howard University School of Divinity (Washington, DC: Howard University Press), 1995.
RIGHTEOUS DISCONTENT
The Women's Movement in the Black
Baptist Church, 1880-1920
EVELYN BROOKS HIGGINBOTHAM
"If the period was so important for women but simultaneously a low point
for black Americans as a group, then how should we understand the
apparently contradictory politics of that time? Righteous Discontent
accentuates the positive, finding in the contradiction 'a creative tension that
both motivated and empowered black women to speak out.' Ms.
Higginbotham moves beyond the dichotomous thinking that has often
short-circuited our attempts to understand the situation of black women...An
important, sophisticated, and richly instructive book."
--Suzanne Lebsock, New York Times Book Review
"Higginbotham's book is populated with fascinating and accomplished
women...[Her] research is impeccable and her work both ambitious and
important. Righteous Discontent contributes significantly to the still
underappreciated history of the black church in America."
--Adele Logan Alexander, Washington Post Book World
"Higginbotham has pioneered a study of a long-neglected component of the
African-American experience. This book is a powerful and compelling story
of the religious life of African-American women and their resistance to
racism and sexism. Through Higginbotham's work, the voices of
African-American women, which have remained silent too long, emerge
distinct and bold."
--Jill Watts, Journal of American History
"A landmark contribution to American religious history."
--Choice
Austin, Allan D. African Muslims in Antebellum America: Transatlantic Stories and Spiritual Struggles. New York:
Routledge, 1997.
Baer, Hans A., and Singer, Merrill. African-American Religion in the Twentieth Century: Varieties of Protest and
Accommodation. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1992.
Brown, Karen McCarthy. Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991.
Frazier, E. Franklin.The Negro Church in America. New York: Schocken Books, 1964.
Fulop, Timothy E., and Raboteau, Albert J., eds. African-American Religion: Interpretive Essays in History and
Culture. New York: Routledge, 1997.
Gardell, Mattias. In the Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. C. Eric Lincoln Series
on the Black Experience. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1996.
Jacobs, Claude F., and Kaslow, Andrew J. The Spiritual Churches of New Orleans: Origins, Beliefs, and Rituals of
an African-American Religion. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1991.
Johnson, Paul E., ed. African-American Christianity: Essays in History. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994.
Levine, Lawrence W. Black Culture and Black Consciousness: Afro-American Folk Thought from Slavery to
Freedom. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.
Lincoln, C. Eric, and Mamiya, Lawrence H. The Black Church in the African American Experience. Durham, NC:
Duke University Press, 1990.
Long, Charles H. Significations: Signs, Symbols, and Images in the Interpretation of Religion. Philadelphia: Fortress
Press, 1986.
Marsh, Clifton E. From Black Muslims to Muslims: The Transition from Separatism to Islam, 1930 -- 1980. Metuchen,
NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1984.
Murphy, Joseph M. Santeria. An African Religion in America. Boston: Beacon Press, 1988.
Pitts, Walter F., Jr. 0 Ship of Zion: The Afro-Baptist Ritual in the African Diaspora. Religion in America Series. New
York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Raboteau, Albert J. A Fire in the Bones: Reflections on African-American Religious History. Boston: Beacon Press,
1995.
_____. Slave Religion: The "Invisible Institution" in the Antebellum South. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.
Ray, Benjamin C. African Religions: Symbol, Ritual, and Community. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1976.
Sanders, Cheryl J. Saints in Exile: The Holiness-Pentecostal Experience in African American Religion and Culture.
Religion in America Series. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Thompson, Robert Farris. Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro-American Art and Philosophy. New York: Random
House, 1983.
Watts, Jill. God, Harlem U.S.A.; The Father Divine Story. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992.
Wilmore, Gayraud S. Black Religion and Black Radicalism: An Interpretation of the Religious History of
Afro-American People. 2d ed. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1983.
