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Marie W Dallam

“This edgy and resourceful analysis” of the early twentieth century preacher “expands our understanding of a critical period in the black church experience” (Shayne Lee, author of T. D. Jakes: America's New Preacher).

 

 In 1919, Charles Manuel “Sweet Daddy” Grace founded the United House of Prayer for All People—long regarded as one of the most extreme Pentecostal sects in the country. The flamboyant Grace wore purple suits with glitzy jewelry, purchased high profile real estate, and conducted baptisms in city streets with a fire hose. He was also reputed to accept massive donations from his poverty-stricken followers and use the money to live lavishly. 

 

 Though Grace appeared to be the glue that held this church together, it has continued to thrive long after his death in 1960. After a period of restructuring and streamlining, the House of Prayer remains active with a national membership in the tens of thousands. In Daddy Grace, Marie W. Dallam offers both a religious history of the House of Prayer and an intellectual history of its colorful and enigmatic leader. 

 

 Dallam examines the religious nature of the House of Prayer, the dimensions of Grace’s leadership strategies, and the connections between his often ostentatious acts and the intentional infrastructure of the church itself. Furthermore, woven through the text are analyses of the race, class, and gender issues manifest in the House of Prayer structure under Grace’s aegis.

NYU Press

Religion, Race, and Ethnicity

Daddy Grace: A Celebrity Preacher and His House of Prayer

Morris L Davis

“A ground-breaking analysis of the intertwined political, racial, and religious dynamics” in the early twentieth century Methodist Church (Wendy J. Deichmann Edwards, United Theological Seminary, Dayton Ohio).

 In 1939, America’s three major Methodist Churches sent delegates to Kansas City, Missouri, for what they called the Uniting Conference. They formed the largest, and arguably the most powerful, Protestant church in the country. Yet this newly “unified” denomination was segregated to its core. In The Methodist Unification, Morris L. Davis examines this unification process, and how it came to institutionalize racism and segregation in unprecedented ways. 

 Davis shows that Methodists in the early twentieth century—including high-profile African American clergy—were very much against integration. Many feared that mixing the races would lead to interracial marriages and threaten the social order of American society. 

The Methodist Unification illuminates the religious culture of Methodism, Methodists' self-identification as the primary carriers of “American Christian Civilization,” and their influence on the crystallization of whiteness during the Jim Crow Era as a legal category and cultural symbol.

The Methodist Unification: Christianity and the Politics of Race in the Jim Crow Era

Raphael G. Warnock

A revealing look at the identity and mission of the Black church

What is the true nature and mission of the church? Is its proper Christian purpose to save souls, or to transform the social order? This question is especially fraught when the church is one built by an enslaved people and formed, from its beginning, at the center of an oppressed community’s fight for personhood and freedom. Such is the central tension in the identity and mission of the Black church in the United States.

For decades the Black church and Black theology have held each other at arm’s length. Black theology has emphasized the role of Christian faith in addressing racism and other forms of oppression, arguing that Jesus urged his disciples to seek the freedom of all peoples. Meanwhile, the Black church, even when focused on social concerns, has often emphasized personal piety rather than social protest. With the rising influence of white evangelicalism, biblical fundamentalism, and the prosperity gospel, the divide has become even more pronounced.

In The Divided Mind of the Black Church, Raphael G. Warnock, Senior Pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, the spiritual home of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., traces the historical significance of the rise and development of Black theology as an important conversation partner for the Black church. Calling for honest dialogue between Black and womanist theologians and Black pastors, this fresh theological treatment demands a new look at the church’s essential mission.

The Divided Mind of the Black Church: Theology, Piety, and Public Witness

Amos Yong

Estrelda Y Alexander

This “well researched, illuminating, and highly informative" volume presents a comprehensive, scholarly overview of Black Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity (Choice).

 

 Since the American Pentecostal movement began in the early twentieth century, its African American sector has been markedly influential. Black Christians have been integrally involved in every aspect of the Pentecostal movement, making significant contributions to its founding as well as the evolution of Pentecostal/charismatic styles of worship, preaching, music, engagement of social issues, and theology. Yet despite its being one of the fastest growing segments of the Black Church, Afro-Pentecostalism has not received the kind of critical attention it deserves. 

Afro-Pentecostalism brings together fourteen interdisciplinary scholars to examine different facets of the movement, including its early history, issues of gender, relations with other black denominations, intersections with popular culture, and missionary activities, as well as the movement’s distinctive theology. Bolstered by editorial introductions to each section, the chapters reflect on the state of the movement, chart its trajectories, discuss pertinent issues, and anticipate future developments. 

 Contributors: Estrelda Y. Alexander, Valerie C. Cooper, David D. Daniels III, Louis B. Gallien, Jr., Clarence E. Hardy III, Dale T. Irvin, Ogbu U. Kalu, Leonard Lovett, Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., Cheryl J. Sanders, Craig Scandrett-Leatherman, William C. Turner, Jr., Frederick L. Ware, and Amos Yong

Afro-Pentecostalism: Black Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity in History and Culture

Walter Earl Fluker

“An exuberant, thought-provoking assessment of the dilemmas facing black churches” examining their historic role in today’s cultural landscape (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

 In The Ground Has Shifted, Walter Earl Fluker discusses the historical and current role of the Black church and argues that the older race-based language and metaphors of religious discourse have outlived their utility. He offers instead a larger, global vision for the Black church that focuses on young Black men and other disenfranchised groups who have been left behind in a world of globalized capital.

 Lyrically written with an emphasis on the dynamic and fluid movement of life itself, Fluker argues that the church must find new ways to use race as an emancipatory instrument if it is to remain central in Black life. He points the way for a new generation of church leaders, scholars and activists to reclaim the Black church’s historical identity and to turn to the task of infusing character, civility, and a sense of community among its congregants.

Honorable Mention, Theology and Religious Studies PROSE Award

The Ground Has Shifted: The Future of the Black Church in Post-Racial America

Craig R Prentiss

The original essays in this collection shed light on the role religion and myth have played in the creation of race and ethnic categories.

 When scholars approach religion and race, they tend to focus on such issues as how African Americans have expressed Christianity, or how Japanese or Mexicans have lived “religiously.” This volume, meant specifically for those new to the field, offers a different perspective. Prominent scholars illuminate the role religious myths have played in shaping those very social boundaries that we call “races” and “ethnicities.” It asks, what part did Christianity play in creating “Blackness”? To what extent was Japanese or Mexican identity itself the product of religious life?

 The text, comprised of all original material, introduces readers to the social construction of race and ethnicity and the ways in which these concepts are shaped by religious narratives. It offers examples from both the U.S. and around the world, exploring these themes in the context of places as diverse as Bosnia, India, Japan, Mexico, Zimbabwe, and the Middle East. The volume helps make the case that any account of the social construction of race and ethnicity will be incomplete if it fails to consider the influence of religious traditions and myths.