The Bourgeoisie Black Church: An Analysis of the American Black Church's Aspirations and Imagination
Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Divinity (MDiv)
Department
Theology
First Advisor/Committee Member
David Leong, Ph.D., Professor of Urban and Intercultural Ministry
Second Advisor/Committee Member
Sègbégnon Gnonhossou, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Theology
Keywords
19th century; African American churches; African Americans—Religion; Assimilation (Sociology); Capitalism—Religious aspects—Christianity; Class aspiration; Excellence; Gaze—Psychological aspects; History; Imperialism—Religious aspects—Christianity; Level of aspiration; Liberation theology; Middle class; Social mobility; Poor; Racism—Religious aspects—Christianity; American Dream—Religious aspects—Christianity; White supremacy (Social structure); Working class
Abstract
I am a product of the Black church. It is my home, my heart, and it has helped me spiritually, financially, and emotionally in many ways throughout my life. However, the church that I love dearly and has provided me with many opportunities has also provided spaces of harm, exclusion, and the promotion of an imperialistic Christ. This tension is not a unique tension for many institutions born in America, but what I see so clearly is the tension between the Black church’s countercultural and resistant roots that started in the brush harbors of the antebellum south and into what it is now; a state-funded and sanctioned tool that cosplays as resistance when it is part and parcel of the American imperial and capitalistic machine. I see the Black church as a once radical space under the influence of the oppressed majority that the state has now captured and delivered into the hands of a few petite bourgeoisie to maintain the status quo. In this project, I will investigate when and how this turn happened in the 19th century. I will discuss the various moments of resistance that have moved through the Black church and discuss the oppositional forces.
When I say the Black church, I am not speaking of one or a few denominations with a specific doctrine that all subscribe to. I am speaking to churches across many denominations that have explicit connections to the enslavement of Africans and the “Invisible Institution,” a religion that is a mixture of African Traditional Religion and Christianity. Albert Raboteau talks about this at length in his work Slave Religion: The “Invisible Institution” of the Antebellum South, where he lays out the history of enslaved Africans being stripped of their traditional religions and forced to convert to Christianity. Given that the Black church was once the “invisible institution” that was a counter-culture resistant force but is now visible and in constant communion with the oppressive American hegemony, this thesis will discover the ways that the Black church assimilated into the American dream and its capitalistic aspirations.
Recommended Citation
Booker, Alexander Robert, "The Bourgeoisie Black Church: An Analysis of the American Black Church's Aspirations and Imagination" (2024). Seattle Pacific Seminary Theses. 21.
https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/spseminary_etd/21
Copyright Status
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Additional Rights Information
Copyright held by author.
Included in
African American Studies Commons, History of Christianity Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons
