African American Religion Summary

African Americans can trace their religious roots back to African religions, Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Christianity for the majority of African Americans became the dominated religion because of evangelism by Europeans. Instead of keeping the enslaved Africans submissive and in line Christianity enriched and strengthened the lives of African Americans to seek their freedom. Several of the insurrection and antislavery movements were born in the African American church. From its inception the African American church has been an institution of hope as well as a refuge against a cruel system of slavery and oppression. It was the African – American church which became the arena and platform for social, political, cultural and economic life for the
Raboteau blends together the Africa customs with Christianity which gives birth to the African American church in the United States. Raboteau contends that religion sustained the African American community during the time of oppression, by providing social networks, avenues for political organizing which focus on freedom (5). Raboteau typical genre of writing revolves around religion and history. The primary aim of the book centered on an attempt to highlight the drama of the African – American religious experience in American: the interweaving of African religious themes with Christianity, the challenge of African Americans to slavery, and the two – century quest for freedom that so often centered in the African American church.

Albert J. Raboteau is the Henry W Putnan Professor of Religion at Princeton University. He is the author of Slave Religion: The “Invisible Institution” in the antebellum South which won the African Roots Award of the African Studies Association in 1978. He also has written A fire in the Bones: Reflections on African- American Religious history and co-editor of the multi- volume series, “African- American Religion: A Historical Interpretation with Representative