The Rise to Respectability: Race, Religion, and the Church of God in Christ, by Calvin White, Jr.

It can be argued that historical pluralism has affected Christians and their identity. A strong example that has seen several times the last few weeks in the extra reading or viewing material has been the civil rights movement. African Americans used their religion as a way to stay connected and motivated during this time of social, ethical, and racial injustice. White, Christian supremacists were called out on the validity of their Christian faith based on their unethical, prejudiced and racist beliefs. A well known example of someone questioning Christians and their values and behavior is in the letter MLK writes while he is in jail in Birmingham. He questions people’s perception of Jesus when he says “Was not Jesus an extremist in love?” He also speaks of his disappointment in the white, Christian church in saying, “I felt that the white ministers, priests, and rabbis of the South would be some of our strongest allies. Instead, some few have been outright opponents, refusing to understand the freedom movement and misrepresenting its leaders; all too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the

The development of Black Theology in the United was one that shocked the nation as a whole. While in slavery, Blacks had to sneak and hold church services. This was partly because Whites felt that Blacks were not able to be accepted into heaven, and they believed that once one as a Christian they could no longer be enslaved. So to appease their conscience they would not allow Blacks to take part in theology. Due to these issues Black Theology soon originated within the United States.

In the Letter to a Birmingham Jail edited by Bryan Loritts, the reader is given several reflections from various individuals who were influenced by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 's A Letter from Birmingham Jail. These various accounts contain an overall theme of injustice, inequality and focus on how the church plays a pivotal role in correcting such societal issues. In the section, A Painful Joyful Journey, the reader reviews the life of Crawford W. Lorittis Jr. and his navigation in the North as an educated black man. In this section he addresses the many societal adjustments he had to encounter throughout life. Often criticized by both the Black and White community, Lorritis sought validation from both groups, as a way to gain self-worth.

Unlike DiAngelo’s White Privilege essay, a group of religious authorities under the umbrella of Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A. wrote a response letter to Dr. Reverend King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” First quoting a portion of Dr. King’s letter then responding to the quote, the group takes a Biblical stance on the racial issues that continue to preside in modern day American culture. Beginning the essay, the group differentiates between merely acting upon the symptoms of racism. “... (a) superficial kind of social analysis…” and discovering and fixing the root of the racial. By investigating the racial issues at hand and striving towards Dr. King’s dream of a community of equal opportunities for all races, then the conversation of racial inequality can begin. Realizing that fostering a multiracial community centered around radical love that forsakes “safety of our social order,” we, as the Christian body need to develop a society that eliminates the social prejudices currently penetrate into every aspect of

Black Christianity in the South came into being "not only because of white missionaries and pastors but also in what historians have called the

The Making of the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message. A. J. Smith Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008.

The African Methodist Episcopal Church also known as the AME Church, represents a long history of people going from struggles to success, from embarrassment to pride, from slaves to free. It is my intention to prove that the name African Methodist Episcopal represents equality and freedom to worship God, no matter what color skin a person was blessed to be born with. The thesis is this: While both Whites and Africans believed in the worship of God, whites believed in the oppression of the Africans’ freedom to serve God in their own way, blacks defended their own right to worship by the development of their own church. According to Andrew White, a well- known author for the AME denomination, “The word African means that our church was

A cult, a term widely utilized within popular culture and American society to describe contemporary, arguably, religious groups has garnered an extremely negative stigma. These media portrayed, ‘dangerous’ groups have over time been accumulating and growing amongst other religions. It is definite that though, historically, these ‘cults’ have been victims of marginalization, invalidation of their beliefs and media/government harassment, many of these organizations are minimally nothing of the demonized ameliorated image, that is enveloped by American society. Hence, from this point forward, within the ‘briefing piece’, it is only with a deep understanding/a religious study interpretation to acknowledge these groups as ‘new religious movements’ (NRMs). As a standoff between the FBI and the religious organization is inevitable, considering illegal acts may be occurring within the NRM, it is with a better approach to look at the film ‘Waco-Rules of Engagement”, directed by Amy Sommer, to avoid any unlawful procedures that could possible occur with the group. Additionally, by gaining insight with the help of Catherine L. Wessinger’s article, “How the Millennium Comes Violent” the agency could better handle the situation and avoid the effects of acting too hostile against the organization.

Religion and race is embedded deeply in culture. Christianity and the images of Jesus had played a huge part in shaping early colonial America. The Color of Christ is a book written by Edward J. Blum and Paul Harvey that provides a great insight on how race, religion and power played an important role in the colonial America. Sometimes, Jesus figures were used to defend unequal treatment given to certain racial groups, while other times it helped them to rise up against inequality. This book explains how different ethnic groups used physical form of Jesus to their advantage. The Color of Christ provide details on how English Colonists used Jesus as a symbol to justify racial supremacy and to help unify different

These three perceptions are distinctly different, but ultimately speak to the contextual nature of Black theology—rooting worship, adoration, and discipleship within the notion a (conscious) living G-d. The first perception explored is the image G-d adored through the lens of Sister Sweet and Mother Darling. At first glance, these women appear different in life style and theology—different churches, different abilities, and different approaches to discipleship. But upon further examination, one discovers the same paradigm at work. Both have lost children to AIDS. Both have committed themselves to a praxis centered theology to process their loss. Mother Darling is street missionary and Sister Sweet is a disabled woman confined to a wheel that feeds the birds and attends to the needs of the Little piece of Heaven Church. Both have found peace in their personalized work for the Lord. Their G-d is a “shelter in a time of storm.” The second perception is the image of G-d as seen through Deacon Zee. This G-d is one of salvation and complacence for Deacon Zee. The “White Jesus” he prayed to for his assistance in finding his copy of the Wall Street Journal—a nuanced symbol for prosperity. This G-d speaks to the corporate nature and element of

In contextualizing the relationship between the neoliberal movements within the institutional American Catholic Church (the hierarchy) and African-American Catholic community, one better understands the theological and cultural forces that are clashing. It is through this examination of the neoliberal manipulation of the hierarchical voice of American Catholicism within the discourse of American politics, and its subsequent effects on Black bodies—an echo of the more sinister objective of the “elites” is heard. As American institutional Catholicism plays its role within the elevation and sanctification of whiteness (through the furthering of the neoliberal movements of Westoxification and commodification)—the institution of religion is being hollowed out. As American institutional

“That philosophy for a long time discouraged church leaders from striving for diversity,” said study co-author Gerardo Martí. “But in coming to terms with the historic racial segregation of American congregations, white pastors in the 1990s aggressively committed to overcoming discrimination, urging members to bring in those from ancestral backgrounds and reaffirm the Gospel as rooted in relationships, unity and love. Racial diversity has become a central, and sometimes dominating ambition for many white churches.

The broken ideas of race within the church are a great threat to Christians accomplishing God’s mission for His children. The segregation and institutional racialized thinking of the church throughout history has blinded us to seeing God’s mission in reconciling his children. For this reason, I am applying my model to the church I attend in Perham Minnesota. Crosspoint Alliance Church is a small church in northern Minnesota with little ethnic diversity, and little exposer to the issues of race in the church throughout the country. I would apply my model in teaching sessions held for the elder board, and leaders in my church. My model is set up to give a brief overview of the history of race in the church, as well as the background of race

Throughout Christian communities around the globe, the widely accepted image for God is a white and all powerful being. While widely accepted, this concept of the most powerful being and creator of the world being a white male has led to a feeling of racial dominance and white supremacy throughout Christian communities. Yet while it is important for racial groups to use religion within their specific cultures to encourage further understanding of God’s role in specific cultures, giving God a specific race classifies him as more important to one race than another, therefore fueling inequality within Christianity. Along with trying to classify God as a specific race, another factor that has the potential to be equally as harmful to religious

policy. Arguably the third great awakening of christian evangelicalism falls in the 1960’s with the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. leading a charge against segregation and in favor of civil rights for people of color (Bellah pg. 252). He himself was an baptist minister, but held the same beliefs as evangelicals which is never formally recognized by the “white Christian evangelicals” of the bible belt (Hankin pg. 141-142). He lead his movement with the scripture in which so many evangelicals derive their faith and divine right from. This was the introduction of religion taking center stage in politics.