ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Roman Catholic Church

Abstract

The book “The African American Religious Experience in America” is written by Anthony B Pinn. The author has beautifully explained the blend of different religion and religious values in America. He explains the issues and thinking of the African Americans. The book also looks into the religions of the African Americans, what religions do they practice and how.

In the chapter of Roman Catholic Church, the author explained that most of the African Americans became Protestants after adopting Christianity. However they were faced by a lot of discrimination. Most of the churches which comprised of white ethic groups discouraged the African American from joining the church. Many of the ethical groups belonged to different languages but they did not encourage the Blacks to join the Catholic churches. They gave an impression that the churches were only for the white people.

The author explores the various religious practices the African Americans have adopted since the beginnings. Some of the African American traditions and practices related and committed to the existence of God however for other African American people the existence of a God is not the origin of their religious values. The book answers the various African American religious experiences and practices like the diverse community system.

The African American communities share a variety of religious practices and traditions with many different groups. The Roman Catholic Church retraces its origin to Peter, the 'rock' upon which - according to Matthew - Jesus first constructed his Church, and to Paul, without whom there would have been 'no Catholic Church'. However, its historic origins lie in the 'Imperial Catholic Church' of the fourth century AD. The identification of Christianity by the Emperor Constantine in 313 AD, paved the way for the ultimate transition of the multinational Roman Empire to the message of Christ.

Roman Catholicism is a foundational structure of Christianity with its beliefs, scripture, and hierarchy forming the bedrock of a significant form of the Christian religion. Many immigrants to North America, particularly the Irish, depended on the constancy of Roman Catholic structure and meaning for their survival in the new land. This entry discusses the historical context, politics, and institutional structure of Roman Catholicism and the roles these play with Roman Catholics immigrating.

To maintain a stable social position, the Roman Catholic Church embraced a strongly hierarchical and authoritarian structure. Its complex form flows downward from the pope to the parish priest. The parish structure provides the context for Catholic community and feeds upward through the priestly stratum into the highest levels of Church authority.

The seven Catholic sacraments are Baptism, Penance, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Extreme Unction. With the exception of Holy Orders and Matrimony, all Roman Catholics participate in each one. The cohesiveness of the Roman Catholic community rests in the sacraments, their theological premises, and their institutionalized conferral by the Church.

The religious and spiritual paths of the African Americans in the United States are illustrated in depth. The smaller religious groups have been explained like Humanism and Santeria. The impact of the civil rights and Black slavery and the struggles of the African Americans have been implicitly ...