African American Religion

Tisa Lipscomb

African American History

Dr. Nchinda

April 8, 2014

African American Religion

In this article, Peter J. Paris did an Assessment on African American Religion and public life. In this article he details the historical overview of African Americans and how religion evolved from slavery and throughout the years well up until currently. He gives us a great sense of how religion was an expression of freedom and how it was very diverse. Mr. Paris stated that certain civil rights where denied pertaining to freedom. During the early years of slavery going to church worshipping god was always supervised. Their master watched over the service. Basically, they didn’t have freedom to practice religion.

In the early years of religion for African American’s it was very diverse. Africans where involved in many religions such as Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, and Islam. African slaves were allowed to assemble but there churches and religious worshipping was invisible to whites. There it is said that the worshipped god by synthesizing African and Christian practices. And they developed music. Which eventually went on to be called spirituals. Those things helped served as a means of support. Paris stated that it resulted in developing a strong slave community, which reminded them of their tribes back in Africa.

Paris provided a lot of information, he found out that the first independent black church was founded in Philadelphia by freed slaves. And that was just the beginning for a major movement, religiously. Thus the African Methodist Episcopal church had become a standard bearer for racial nationalism. I guess when they broke away from the euro- American side of the churches they felt less oppressed. That then gave them the independent space for their people to worship god and serve the needs of the people. Basically they instilled the moral values within the African American community....