Date
3-2-2023
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)
Chair
Mary Lowe
Keywords
Spiritual growth, Spiritual formation, Black Greek Sororities, Black Feminist Thought, Black Spirituality, Intersectionality
Disciplines
Christianity | Educational Leadership
Recommended Citation
Aragon, Lorraine Mary, "A Phenomenological Study of How Active Engagement in Black Greek Letter Sororities Influences Christian Members' Spiritual Growth" (2023). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 4169.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/4169
Abstract
This phenomenological study explored how being part of a Black Greek Letter. Organization (BGLO) sorority impacts the spiritual growth of its Christian members. One of the issues explored was the influence relationships within these sororities have on members striving to be like Christ. There is a dichotomy of perspectives regarding Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). They have a significant role in the Black community as organizations that foster leadership, philanthropy, and sisterhood and promote education. They are admired on and off college campuses and in the broader community in graduate chapters. The objective of phenomenology is to describe phenomena of spiritual growth among Christian sorority members from the life experiences of those who live them; that premise guided the interviews conducted for this study. The results found that active engagement in a BGLO sorority positively impacts its members' spiritual growth. From the emotional stories of sisterhood, service, and devotion to prayer, their experiences evidenced strengthened walks of faith. This study contrasts the Anti-BGLO narrative as a testament to these organizations' legacy and practices deeply grounded in the church.
