Essay On Black American Religion

“Roll, Jordan, Roll”, “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Had”, “Go Down, Moses”, and “Wade in the Water” are the titles of only a handful of what were called “Negro Spirituals”, which originated during the reign of slavery in the United States (Frey). Such spirituals used call-and-response, a method of communication that was popular with slaves who brought African traditions to America, and gave way to the gospel music and unique form of preaching characteristic to the Black Church. The history of the Black Church, which began during the slave era, demonstrates the way that African Americans found refuge in Christianity, where the church became the center for African American communities (Baer). Born out of struggle and oppression, the Black Church not only became the focus for the religious practices of African American communities, but also worked to “re-member” the community through rituals such as that of call-and-response, a core element of the Black Church which served as a powerful tool for the African American community in the fight for the exercise of true freedom in America.

As an African-American in the United States, I participate in activities to help me identify with my race. Yes, there are many types of African-Americans, but we all share similar ideas, values, and traditions that bring everyone closer. As African-Americans, we strongly believe in religion. Since slavery, religion has played a tremendous role in contributing to our beliefs. We believe there is a greater divine who knows our purpose, and has the power to control it. In addition, we believe prayer changes things especially when times become rough and unbearable. It is common for Black children to “grow-up” in the church and attend with their families every Sunday. Although I am in college, this has not change. I attempt to at least go twice out the month.

I found many interesting parts about African American Baptist churches and how it all started and what caught my eye was the very first African American baptist church was the oldest and it was constituted at Silver Bluff about a year or two before he revolutionary war and started early in 1775. The silver bluff was located on the South Carolina side of Savannah River in Aiken County and was only twelve miles in distance from Augusta, GA. In my findings it shows that the founders by the name of Andrew Bryan, George Liele and it was in the 1770s Savannah’s First Baptist Church and it was an independent during the slavery era. It also showed that there was a large number of black baptist secretly worshipped meetings on their own. The black baptist

Historians investigating African American religious history have labeled the secretive slave worship services the “Invisible Institution” because much of it was invisible to the eyes of their masters. They had secret places in which they met. Some of the places were: “In their cabins, woods, thickets, hollows, and brush arbors (shelter of cut branches also called ‘hush harbors’) throughout the South, slaves held their own religious meetings where they interpreted Christianity according to their experience, applying the stories and symbols of the Bible to make sense out of their lives.”

African Americans have a long and rich spiritual history, which predates their arrival in the Americas. Ancient African religions and customs survived and found themselves incorporated into Christianity in the New World (Hine, Hine, Harrold). As African Americans increasingly found themselves stifled by the Christian worship services they attended, they began to found their own religious organizations. These slave organizations gave rise to the first known African American churches which arose long before the beginnings of the American Revolution (Hine, Hine, Harrold).

From the slave trade that devastated parts of Africa beginning in the early 1500s to the present, European activity among Africans had tremendous consequences. White domination created questions of identity, culture, politics, and economics that African society are still working to resolve. Once Africa was colonized by the Europeans there was major effects on the people of Africa. They were forced to work for the European settlers with no pay.

Being black in America involves a process of moving through and adopting from many different cultures. As an African American, I am a descendant of one of the most unique diverse groups of people in America. Nearly all my ancestors carry some European and Native American DNA. Although slavery greatly restricted the ability of Africans in America to practice their cultural traditions; somehow, many of their practices, values, and beliefs survived, but over time have incorporated elements of European American culture. Black culture on another hand exists on multiple planes due to racism, economic and social condition, and location trends that draws from a variety of influences born both in and outside black communities.

In the African American community, a major component of our history is the institution of religion. It has been with us since our time in Africa, and it still affects us today. The sad realization is many African Americans today never learned the history to understand how much religion affected us, so people of the current generation did not appreciate its importance. Now, there is a social conflict between generations of Blacks in regards to how they see religion. In this paper, I plan to show how religion has molded the African American community into what it is today, and how African Americans’ perspective of religion is changing in the community.

Ever since the late 16th century African American people have been treated unfairly and forced to work as slaves against their will. The religion, racism has turned our world upside down by defacing colored people’s homes and stores and physically harming the African American people. “A product of the belief that humans are divided into separate and exclusive biological entities called ‘races’ is racism, an ideology based on the notion that some races are innately superior to others,”(Race and ethnicity). In the modern 21st century African American citizens are being denied jobs, homes, and service in shops which I not only believe is wrong but needs to be eliminated around the world. The religion that is racism is currently being protected

Since America’s early stages of colonization, religion has played a tremendous role in shaping the nation. Not just any religion has influenced America, though. Christianity has affected

There are many different kinds of religions and interpretations of events, that took place. Whether someone reads about the Native American creation stories or the rigid beliefs of the Puritans that Landed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony they are all religions that shaped America to what it is, today. In America today, there are many different religions along with branches of religions that influence decisions that are made.

In today’s society, people are including less religion and faith in their daily lives. In fact, religion is apart of our culture. It plays an important role in our faith and culture despite how people secularize it. We learn where we descend from and how being religious had always been apart our whole life. Anthropologists included how religion helps us understand big questions in order of us to grow, be better people. So as to understand, we have religious rituals like receiving communion or even attending mass on Sunday’s. Society nowadays would rather separate from religious connection and influence. Society is slowly moving away from the Church but we can prevent that by showing how important religion is in our culture.

Around 1520 Puritans formed an innovative religious movement known as Protestantism which challenged Catholic guidelines. Instead of starting a church of their own, men like Martin Luther and John Calvin, started practices of their own in different parts of Europe. The different conflicts that resulted from these new denominations helped shape the way the empire was being developed in North America. This religious revolution in Europe drove the construction of empires in America because it forced devout minorities to pursue new opportunities there. Also, these new religions assisted in tearing apart Spain’s American domination.

Religion has played a large role throughout History. Entire nations have been founded on the ideals of one religion or another, and many wars have been fought purely for religious reasons. In fact there are wars still going on that are almost completely religiously motivated. New Religions may form, old religions may die or change, but they will always be a part of our culture and society. Religion always seems to play a large role in the formation of societies and cultures, and the history of the United States is no different from that of the rest of the world. Religion played a major role in the formation of the United States of America. More specifically between 1607 when

Christianity is one of the most popular religions in the United States. You are more likely to run into someone who practices the Christian religion than someone who practices the Jewish religion. “The United States was founded primarily by Christian minorities fleeing Britain and Europe in the wake of the Protestant Reformation” (Rowe 53). Christianity spread throughout the United States very quickly and easily because the founders of the United States practiced Christianity. There were no other religions that were spreading throughout the United States when it was first founded so Christianity spread very quickly. “Over time, dozens of new religious movements would emerge in the United States and then move on to revolutionize the world of religion” (Rowe 53). Christianity helped start many other types of religions. People would use parts of Christianity that they liked and get rid of the parts of Christianity that they didn’t like in order to create their new