Behind the scenes: The making of liberation in an African -American church.

What makes some African-American churches more apt to engage in social change than others, and why do differences between them persist over time? Most research in the sociology of religion views African-American congregations as homogenous institutions of solidarity and liberation that are uniformly oriented toward social change and liberation, even when that agenda is either ambiguous or silent. Controlling for denomination, this ethnographic study compares and investigates the contrasting ideologies and practices of social change as developed by two African-American churches in Oakland, California: Allen Temple and Cosmopolitan. While both churches are located on the same street, draw from the same community of African-Americans, and nationally are members of the same denomination, the American Baptist Churches, U.S.A., their approaches to liberation and social change differ. Cosmopolitan's approach is characterized by a more conservative ideology of individual, personal and spiritual change, whereas Allen Temple's progressive, radical ideology of social change reaches further to critique and transform political and economic structures. Drawing on data from six focus groups, original oral histories, and secondary historical accounts, this study attributes these differences to three underlying, interrelated sociological processes: (1) historical events which led to different kinds of leadership at each church; (2) the current demographical make-up and the life histories of the membership and their ability to mobilize resources; and (3) the internal and external coalitions and collective action which leaders and members use to push the congregation toward either a radical/progressive agenda, or toward a more politically conservative one. Findings from the study challenge research on the African-American church to take more seriously: (1) the ideology, practices and social dynamics of local congregations which are sometimes separate and distinct from denominational authority; (2) the role of the wider membership in churches, like women and gay professionals who work behind the scenes with or in resistance to leadership and church authority; and (3) the impact of the political left and the religious right upon the ideology of liberation and social change within the African-American religious community.Ph.D.Black studiesEthnic studiesPhilosophy, Religion and TheologyReligionSocial SciencesSocial structureUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/132712/2/9977285.pd