The Black Church summary

The 1730s and 40s saw a religious revival sweep across North America – it was known as the First Great Awakening. Methodists and Baptists of all races gathered to worship through ecstatic dancing, shouting, and preaching. 

These revivals resonated with Black people, who saw similarities with African religious practices. They also allowed free and enslaved Black people to publicly worship, and even give testimonies. As a result, masses of Black people converted to Christianity.

Religious revivals continued well after the Great Awakenings. And not only did they encourage Black people to join existing denominations, they also inspired a new religious movement. The late 1800s saw the rise of the Holiness movement through revivals in the south. One of the defining characteristics of this movement was baptism by the holy spirit, which included speaking in tongues. 

W.E.B Du Bois, the African American sociologist, historian, and author, famously wrote about witnessing speaking in tongues. He described it as “The Frenzy of ‘Shouting,’ when the Spirit of the Lord passed by, and, seizing the devotee, made him mad with supernatural joy.”

The churches established by Black people were more than houses of worship. From the early, hidden gatherings, to the brick-and-mortar churches built by free Black people, these religious spaces also served as political centers for their congregants. 

The church was so central that, in August of 1862, President Abraham Lincoln invited five Black religious leaders to discuss an emancipation plan that would see Black people deported from America. For the clergymen and their congregations, this was out of the question. America was their home, and they’d contributed enormously to building it. 

Less than a decade after the Emancipation Proclamation, another door opened for Black Americans. The Fifteenth Amendment, signed in 1870, gave Black men voting rights. This event created a new purpose for the Black church. 

Church buildings hosted political debates and meetings, and congregations were encouraged to vote. The result? Around 2000 Black men were voted into public office, and almost 250 were church ministers. One of them was Richard Harvey Cain, who, in 1872, became the first Black clergyman elected to the House of Representatives. 

We’ve learned how enslaved Black people adopted Christianity and added elements of African practices. One of the most prominent examples of this fusion is the music of the Black church.

During enslavement, Black people created spirituals – songs that combined Christian hymns, aspects of African music, and stories of their suffering and hopes for freedom. Black people sang spirituals whilst working or praying, and key features included repetition, call-and-response, and musical notes inspired by African sounds. These spirituals were the foundations for gospel music. 

The end of the 1960s marked a new chapter for the Black Church. The civil rights movement, led largely by the church, had put an end to segregation, outlawed discrimination, and helped ensure Black people’s right to vote.

But despite the success of the movement and the non-violent approach it advocated for, young people were increasingly gravitating towards militant organizations, like the Black Panther Party. 

With the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, the year 2020 brought unprecedented challenges for the world at large. 

In the United States, the pandemic highlighted deep flaws in the public health system that disproportionately affected people of color. For instance, the rate and severity of infections were higher in people of color, and the death rate amongst Black people was twice that of their white counterparts. The response from the government left a lot to be desired. And, like they have done many times before, Black churches stepped in to fill the gaps.