The Other Black Church: Alternative Christian Movements and the Struggle for Black Freedom

The Other Black Church explores alternative Christian movements led by Father Divine, Charles Mason, and Albert Cleage, which re-envisioned Black citizenship and offered a new model of protest. It highlights their conversations and archives with other key Black prophetic and theological figures of the mid-twentieth century, and argues for their continued significance for thinking about Black protest during the twentieth century.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 15 September 2022
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

The Other Black Church: Alternative Christian Movements and the Struggle for Black Freedom explores the transformative Christian movements led by Father Divine, Charles Mason, and Albert Cleage (later known as Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman) in the mid-twentieth century. These movements challenged the boundaries and possibilities of Black citizenship, reevaluating the value and significance of Christian texts and reimagining the role of the Black Christian prophetic tradition. They also proposed a novel model of protest that challenged the language and logic of Black essentialism, economic development, and the role of the state. By situating these movements within the context of Black theology and religious studies, the book argues that alternative Christian movements are crucial for understanding African American critiques of and responses to the shortcomings of U.S.-based democracy. The prophets of Black theological thought and their attention to the limitations of the state and traditional Black religious formations are best appreciated when studied in light of their interactions with other prominent Black prophetic and theological figures of the mid-twentieth century. Ultimately, The Other Black Church aims to highlight the protest of the racial state, explore the boundaries of the Black church, and argue for the continued significance of these movements for understanding the diversity and vibrancy of Black protest, particularly Black religious protest, during the twentieth century.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781978704824