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6.11: The Black Church and the Ethos of Freedom

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    324879
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    The Black Church (encompassing Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, and other denominations) is arguably the most foundational institution in African American life. It has never been solely a site of worship; it has historically functioned as a political base, a social service agency, a center for economic cooperation, and a repository for cultural expression (Lincoln and Mamiya 1990). From the spirituals of the slavery era, which contained coded messages of resistance, to the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement, the church has been central to the fight for freedom and justice. Its worship style, characterized by call-and-response, emotional fervor, and communal participation, is a direct link to African religious retentions Raboteau 1978).


    6.11: The Black Church and the Ethos of Freedom is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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