contributor-Christian Blog
A few months ago, Atlanta Black Star featured a short article by G. Thorpe that shares five religious practices that have carried over from slavery into modern-day African American religiosity. These points sparked deep debates and left readers with more questions than answers.
Today, many Black people use a white image to depict Jesus. Africans who practiced Christianity before slavery used Black images historically to describe their god.”
Many historians say that this practice mentioned in Thorpe’s first point is the result of the early depictions of a “white Jesus” being used as a sign of white dominance and power. Joshua Canada, who wrote an essay on the race of Jesus, states, “Although it isn’t a comfortable reality, a white Jesus normalizes Christianity as a ‘white man’s religion.’ Historically, within the American context this has been painstakingly true.”
“Enslaved Africans were taught to fear and devalue African religious practices. Today, most Black people in the world still don’t seek to inculcate traditional African religions.”
A Wikipedia article defines ‘African religiosity’ in a way that reflects the root of Thorpe’s point: “During slavery, many slaves were stripped of their African belief systems and typically denied free religious practice. Slaves managed, however, to hang on to some practices… These practices, including dance, shouts, African rhythms, and enthusiastic singing, remain a large part of worship in the African American church.”
“Many Black people across the world still use the King James version of the Bible as the final authority of Christianity.”
“It’s a loftiness to the language that I believe appealed to people who are constantly being told, `You don’t count. You’re nobody. You’re at the bottom rung of the ladder,” said The Rev. Cheryl Sanders, an ordained minister and professor of Christian ethics at Howard University School of Divinity. “If I can memorize a verse of Scripture, it gives me a certain sense of dignity.”
“Today, many Black people focus only on religious dogma that was taught during slavery and colonialism rather than developing a spiritual relationship with the creator.”
The Rev. Tamara E. Lewis agrees with the idea that old religious traditions are still held onto in the Black church, as opposed to letting go of unnecessary practices and putting more importance on spirituality.
“…Black churches have been very good about passing on the traditions and styles in worship and ministry that originated in slavery. Those traditions and styles were effective at the time, but they have become ineffective now,” says Lewis.
“The majority of enslaved Africans were taught to no longer honor and connect spiritually with their ancestors. As a result, many Black people today devalue the idea of developing a connection with their ancestors.”
Anthony B. Pinn, a prolific professor and author, explains in his book, “Varieties of African American Religious Experience,” about how African slaves and their descendants gradually moved away from their original practices of connecting with their ancestors.
“Ancestors were remembered on the level of individuals paying respect, not on the level of communal remembrance and shrine-based reenactment,” wrote Pinn. “Restructuring also occurred as religious community moved away from family lines toward race lines—black slaves and white owners.”
The Black church remains a hot topic and there are a lot of critics who find fault in the institution, but many scholars say that the customs within the church are still transforming.
“It is clear that the church, like all social organizations, is changing. It is also clear that the debate about what the church is, is highly charged by competing ideas about what it ought to be,” says PBS writer Marilyn Mellowes.
Black churches in America may or may not move into a more African-centered direction, but discussion on the subject may cause more black Christians to seek answers on why certain traditions exist within the religion and whether those practices should evolve for the betterment of the spiritual institution.
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