African American Religious Beliefs and Practices in the New World

African American Religious Beliefs and Practices in the New World

African American Religious Beliefs In Past

In these early years of the new millennium, religious congregations are still important centers of energy and service in black communities. For millions of African Americans the congregation Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or otherwise is still the main place where people volunteer, contribute to charity, and find meaningful support for the difficulties of life.

As some predominantly white Christian denominations move toward racial and ethnic diversity in appointing clergy for local parishes, the African-American perspective on religious faith and practice is being shared with a larger community of believers. One can imagine a similar sharing at work in the Islamic community as African Americans come to hold a larger share of Muslim membership and leadership. This will enrich all who participate in the sharing.

The Nation of Islam called upon blacks to reject Christianity, the "white man's religion," and to claim Islam, said to be the religion of their own heritage, from their own homeland. The Nation's teachings condemned white racism and even portrayed whites as the result of a creation process that had taken an evil turn. Racial discrimination and social/economic oppression in the United States were sharply criticized, and blacks were encouraged to defend themselves against assaults of any kind (Murphy, 2002).

African American Religious Beliefs in 20th Century

The problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line. Matters such as affirmative action, racial profiling, and employment discrimination still concern us all. One way to assess the impact of African American religion on social issues is to examine how it has addressed the racial issues so key to the nation and to African Americans. The black church has done this in several ways. One approach has been ...