Black Religiosity as a Motivator for Political Participation: Myth vs. Fact
Black Religiosity as a Motivator for Political Participation: Myth vs. Fact
By Nino Rekhviashvili
Professor Michelle Smith
Term Paper Fall 2012
December 12th, 2012
Black Religiosity as a Motivator for Political Participation: Myth vs. Fact Scholars writing on the influential capacity of the black church frequently breeze over their claims that traditional scholarship on the black church supports the notion that the black church is apolitical and leads its members to turn away from 'thisworldly ' concerns to concerns of the afterlife, or 'otherworldly ' concerns. Few, if any, explicitly cite whom these scholars are, or go in depth with their explanations and interpretations. Nevertheless, much literature is written to counter those positions. The main scholarship within this field thus focuses on the proving that the black church is in fact a mechanism capable of doling out political leaders, communities, and discourses. Some of the literature engages the beginnings of the black church and its conception during slavery, when it was used as means of maintaining humanity for slaves, but most of the literature focuses on 20th century applications of the black Christianity, such as during the 1930s, when blacks in Alabama controversially merged Marxism with Christianity, or during the civil rights movement, when churches were used as recruiting, training, and organizing platforms. I begin this literature review discussing critiques of the approaches for interpreting the activity of the black church that scholars have used to conclude on its apolitical nature. Jacqueline S. Mattis provides an alternative lens for viewing the interactions of black churches within the community that
By Nino Rekhviashvili
Professor Michelle Smith
Term Paper Fall 2012
December 12th, 2012
Black Religiosity as a Motivator for Political Participation: Myth vs. Fact Scholars writing on the influential capacity of the black church frequently breeze over their claims that traditional scholarship on the black church supports the notion that the black church is apolitical and leads its members to turn away from 'thisworldly ' concerns to concerns of the afterlife, or 'otherworldly ' concerns. Few, if any, explicitly cite whom these scholars are, or go in depth with their explanations and interpretations. Nevertheless, much literature is written to counter those positions. The main scholarship within this field thus focuses on the proving that the black church is in fact a mechanism capable of doling out political leaders, communities, and discourses. Some of the literature engages the beginnings of the black church and its conception during slavery, when it was used as means of maintaining humanity for slaves, but most of the literature focuses on 20th century applications of the black Christianity, such as during the 1930s, when blacks in Alabama controversially merged Marxism with Christianity, or during the civil rights movement, when churches were used as recruiting, training, and organizing platforms. I begin this literature review discussing critiques of the approaches for interpreting the activity of the black church that scholars have used to conclude on its apolitical nature. Jacqueline S. Mattis provides an alternative lens for viewing the interactions of black churches within the community that
Cited: Brown, R. Khari, and Ronald E. Brown. "Faith and Works: Church-Based Social Capital Resources and African American Political Activism." Social Forces 82.2 (2003): 617-41. JSTOR. Web. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/3598204>. Campbell, David E Fitzgerald, Scott T., and Ryan E. Spohn. "Pulpits and Platforms: The Role of the Church in Determining Protest among Black Americans." Social Forces 84.2 (2005): 1015-048. JSTOR. Web. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/3598489>. Harris, Frederick C Harris, Fredrick C. "Something within : Religion in African-American Political Activism." The Journal of Politics 56.1 (1994): 42-68. JSTOR. Web. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2132345>. Hayward, Henry, JR Kelley, Robin D. G. Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists during the Great Depression. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1990. Print. Mattis, Jacqueline S. "Religion and African American Political Life." Political Psychology 22.2 (2001): 263-78. JSTOR. Web. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/3791926>. McClerking, Harwood K., and Eric L Churches and Black Political Participation." Political Psychology 26.5 (2005): 721-34