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Shannon Long
Professor Heitman
COR. 1110-04
16 May 2016
The Black Church New Agenda
Although, we live in a world where most people are religious and make the most out of
God.In terms of the black community that Du Bois was shown, he could not understand the
black church at first. But once he was shown that the black church was a place to celebrate
anything, he thought about why he was not shown the way of the black church before now.
Even though at first the black community may have found their identity in slavery, they formed
an establishment that is the black church; the identity of the black community eventually
became rooted in the Christian religion.
Before slavery was abolished, most of black people read the Bible when they were not
working because of the comfort that they gained. Slavery was very hard on the blacks and all
they had was God. “... Unknown, the comforter of sorrowing, the supernatural avenger of wrong,
and the one who rudely but picturesquely expressed the longing, disappointment, and
resentment of a stolen and oppressed people.”(166-167) When the blacks turned to God, they
felt that he could answer all their prays. But he also helped the blacks through the difficult times
in their life.
Before the black church formed, religion was more individualized, but when the black
church was established, black people came together in a true community form. In the book, Du
bois said that when he went to the black church he said there was a different type of
atmosphere, than any other church he had been to. “... I know not what would have happened
those dear Sabbath mornings had someone punctuated the sermon with a wild scream, or
interrupted the long prayer with a loud Amen!” (161-162) The black church Du bois speaks
about in this chapter is what most people today think about black churches. The blacks like to
express their culture with lots of irregular shouting and singing. The black church was also, a
place to celebrate life, death, and their freedom from slavery.
At first the Christian religion reflected the white culture, but the black church adapted it
and made it their own. “...the motives of expediency gave these rites an early veneer of
Christianity, and after the lapse of many generations the Negro church became Christian.” (167)
The difference between the white and the black church was the whites has a prayer reading and
a priest to preach what was good and bad in their life. The whites quietly prayed while the
blacks on the other hand, were loud and boisterous like it was a celebration every morning.
Also, in the black church they had gospel music and a choir to sing.
The Negro church symbolized the black community as a whole. “Those who have not
witnessed the frenzy of a Negro revival in the untouched backwoods of the South can but dimly
