East St. Louis Action Research Project
Environmental perceptions and space awareness as well as human interactions and community relationships that are established within the resulting, limiting boundaries begin much earlier than we think and are rooted deep in our psyche. These are shaped and grow out of people's ways from patterns of social organization and change as well as from mythic memory, ritual practice and thought traditions that are built within the "structure and the system" or the order of religion.
Man's life, his sensibilities and activities that are generated from religious associations are an instrumental factor in directing his relationship with other fellow human beings. Institutions of religion help bringing people to work together for progressive change.
The religious experience of the minority of African Americans was so closely intertwined with their total life experience that the starting point in understanding the meaning of that religious life must be the total life experience. For them, before they were forced to become unwilling participants in one of the most oppressive systems of slavery that the world had witnessed, the ancestors of the African Americans in Africa were very much a religious people. In their native land the totality of their lives was informed by what in western Europe was defined as "religion," but what, to them meant as a basic and integral part of life (Jones 1991).Thus, they brought that "religion" with them; some, too, had been exposed to the Moslem faith before their capture.
Christianity had not taken root in Africa when the first slaves were brought from those shores (Jones 1978), and the earliest efforts to convert them were made within the context of family life, where master and mistress sought to share the liberating message of salvation. The irony of slaveholders seeking to win converts to Christianity, with its emphasis upon freedom, was only overcome by teaching that the freedom the Gospel promised was primarily spiritual in nature. The first organized effort to Christianize slaves was the creation of the Society for the Proppogation of the Gospel (SPG), by the Anglican Church in 1701. By the end of the eighteenth century, only about 4-5% of blacks were enrolled on the rosters of the Christian churches.
The Black Church as we know it today, was coming into its own distinctive pattern long before official efforts were made to Christianize the Black man. Since the slaves were considered infidels, this belief made it possible for the slave's "secret religious meetings" to promote his practices of beliefs he held dear. Uppermost in the unrecorded religious beliefs of the Black slaves was the absolute acceptance of Jesus as the Son of God, fully alive and with Almighty Power; the belief that God's amazing grace could save the sinner from destruction. The practical implications of this teaching meant that the white man's idea of a transcendant God was now present among his believers anywhere and anytime. Thus the traditional possession experiences known to Black people were easily expressed through the Person of the Holy Spirit who was active in the lives of his own. This Holy Power, at work in the lives of the slaves, made Himself first known in nightly praise house experiences of the slaves in the New World.
The praise house was that hut or building the slaves first used for their nightly meetings of prayer and song. Sometimes these praise meetings were held in secret, in open fields, then again they were held with permission from the master. Here the slave got religion and his soul was converted. These secret meetings of "praise" were later institutionalized and these assemblies gave rise to independent churches.
The first religious institution primarily controlled and administered by blacks was established at Silver Bluff, South Carolina in the 1770s.The Free African Society of Philadelphia, established in 1778 by two former slaves, Richard Allen and Absalom Jones was an example of one of the earliest formal organizational activity- more frequent among the free blacks in the urban North (Woodson 1922). Most of such groups were quasi-religious bodies and churches frequently came into existance from the membership of these societies. The Free African Society of Philadelphia, that newly created independent body, was the mother of two African Amertican churches- St. Thomas African Episcopal Church (later named the St. Thomas Protestant Episcopal Church) established in 1794, and the Bethel African Church (later becoming an independent organization known as the African Methodist Episcopal Church), which was the first black congregation in the Philadelphia Methodist Conference.
There are numerous Afro American religious bodies, some that are Christian missions and ministry organizations, and others that are non-Christian. Most are classified as a denomination- religious groups or communities that maintain a corporate fellowship, share basic doctrinal beliefs, and have a distinctive name. The growth and development of each denomination has generally been stable and not under the influence of charismatic individuals. Some religious bodies could be considered as sects- autonomous religious groups whose adherents recognize a special set of teachings or practices. They have been included as equally important and viable religious groups and some are presented as below-
The Afro-American congregational church (whether Christian or non- Christian) developed not only as a place to get salvation and meet the Brothers and Sisters on the Main line; it also functioned as the breeding ground for Black community leadership, from religious to civic causes (Carter, 1976). A respect for and deep appreciation of the Word of God was fostered that provided a redemptive inner release for a people long burdened with cruel oppresive forces. From this quarter of congregational force, community leadership was provided when Black people had no other place to turn to.
For Black Americans their religious sentiments were thus a major force that bound them across various denominations to become a focussing instrument, not only for spiritual fulfillment, but also offered an arena for community participation, social activities, socialization of its members, and provided comfort and assistance in times of crisis. Even in modern times Afro-American religion has played an important organizational role in community-related activities, whether it may be social, economic or political activities related to the community.
Any important institution of society will have a number of roles and functions, and thus, an impact upon its membership. So is the case with the several Afro-American religious organizations as well. For example, in his study of the Black church, distinguished social scientist E. Franklin Frazier speaks of "The Black Church: Nation within a Nation," in which he relates the church as an "agency of social control," as an "economic cooperative," as an "educational institution," and as an arena of political life (Frazier 1964). These functions- political, economic, social, and security; all attest to the secular scope of the Black church. Afro-American Baptist churches have had a successful degree of involvement where the congregation has been socially concerned and supportive of secular activities in the community, specially as these relate to providing services to the needy, ill or elderly as well as recreational activities for youth. Moreover there are several religious education institutions such as academic seminaries, Bible colleges, research/professional organizations, and schools, colleges, universities and seminaries that are historically African American.
Some of the community activities that African American religious organizations have/can be involved in can be listed as:
Learning more about the function of the Afro-American church is made urgent by the increased necessity for it to be responsive to the social needs of the Black community. The nature of these social needs is made urgent by this age of many new problems. One major problem is the high level of unemployment within the Black community. Nationally, the unemployment rates for Blacks during the latter parts of the 1970's have fluctuated at high levels; moreover, the jobless rate differentials between Blacks and whites have widened. During such times of heavy unemployment, the church has performed a number of functions- such as providing job refferal services and disbursing food, clothes etc. in addition to its normal duties of ministering to the sick, the shut-in and other unfortunates and their families.
Another modern problem which relates to the role of the church in secular activities is its interaction with black families. According to the census figures, the number of Black households headed by females is continuing to increase over the years. For Blacks this dramatic rise may be attributed to the increasing number of divorces and separations, both of which have had more serious underlying causes, and which also have ramifications as to the ability of the family to maintain an adequate income for the provision of food, clothing, shelter, education etc. The church formerly was the home for many entire extended families in the Black community and played a big role in establishing standards of conduct- legitimizing births, marriages, and deaths; educating and caring for children; and counseling married individuals. Consequently, the church was a resource center for the Black family, and played a role in its survival. Today, with the now new pressures on the family, which in addition to employment related difficulties threaten its survival, it becomes imperitive to assess the modern role of such religious organizations and the extent to which they provide services to meet these new needs.
Edwardsville's "East St. Louis Center" chapter concerning programs on social outreach and service activities such as Upward Bound/Science Awareness, Head Start Program, Satellite DentalClinic, Optum etric Clinic and Community Nursing Center.
Document author(s) : Bharat Mehra
HTML by : Bharat Mehra
Last modified: 26 September, 1995
LA 437/465 Fall 1995, Background Research Reports/A>
East St. Louis Action Research Project
