Date
3-21-2025
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Bible Exposition (PhD)
Chair
Dennis R. McDonald
Keywords
Racism, African American Churches, White Theology, Black Theology
Disciplines
Religion
Recommended Citation
Bourne, Naeem J., "Racism and the African American Church: The Impact that Racial Discrimination has on the Theology of African American Churches" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 6564.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/6564
Abstract
The theology of the earlier evangelicals (white theology) has influenced the African American church. More to the point, the theology of the white evangelicals (The Puritans) has had both positive and negative impacts on the African American church, which birthed black theology in the United States. The influence continues today in more subtle ways (e.g., an image of a European blue-eyed man imposter posing as Jesus) and not-so-subtle forms (e.g., Kenneth Copeland’s video of making light of slavery in America). The “Protestant icon” of the blue-eyed Jesus was born in the 1940s and has entered African American homes nationwide. The subtleties of white supremacy mixed with religion have permeated churches across America.
This dissertation aims to demonstrate a solution for reconciliation through the biblical theology of unity and equality of all people according to Leviticus 19:33,34 and Acts 17:26. In the Old Testament, the people of Judah were to treat the stranger of the land as their brother (Lev. 19:33,34) because we came from the same Father in heaven (Acts 17:26). As the Hebrews made their exodus from Egypt, some people who were not Hebrews came with them. Some scholars believe that these people were either Egyptian slaves, people who had married into the Israelite tribes, or perhaps they were mercenaries who had joined Israel. Whoever they were, they were not Israelites. They did not have the same promises that God had made to them. The Israelites were people whom God called, but God included these strangers to be treated as part of the family (Lev. 19:33,34) if they were willing to submit to God’s authority as their Lord. This shows racial unity and establishes common ground for God’s people and those accepted as a family to advance God’s purpose. This dissertation will attempt to show that all people who believe in Jesus can join together to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
Racism has become “invisible” to some because it has become the norm in society. It has become “invisible” because it has become the societal norm. I want to highlight the racism (discrimination) proponents that keep racism alive. The hope is that we come to a mutual agreement, according to the scripture, by which both sides claim to follow, that we are all equal in God's eyes and must come together to dismantle the construct of racism.
From the pulpits of America, preachers gave the gospel message every Sunday with the hope that someone's life would be changed for the better toward God through Jesus Christ. The theology of the white evangelicals greatly affected the African American church. This concept is not a new phenomenon. When the Gentiles were introduced to the Gospel in the first century, the Jewish Christians attempted to implement their rituals, cultural practices, and the law so that the Gentiles may "become Jewish Christians” (Acts 15:24).
First and foremost, the Bible will be the primary source for this work. This author will use the Hebrew and Greek texts, LXX, and the King James Version as primary sources. This writer will use the Bible's NIV, NLT, and NASB versions as a parallel. The Hebrew and Greek Lexicon concordances and biblical dictionaries, which will help exegete Exodus 32 and other biblical passages, will also be used. Reputable websites, such as JSTOR.com and Google Scholar, will prove helpful in the review of journal articles that will discuss the effects of racism in the church community.
The second group of literary sources will be literature by James Cone, who will cover the origin of Black Liberation Theology, Michael D. LeMay on American Christianity, and Amy S. Greenberg as she covers the historical account of the "expansionism" of the United States in the 1840s. Other literary sources will give a historical understanding of the slave trade, the oppressor’s theology, and the theology of the oppressed. I will utilize a third group of literary sources: exegetical commentaries.
This author has chosen a qualitative approach to my research, using several groups of literary sources to research history. A qualitative approach is a method that allows the researcher to gather data. The qualitative approach answers the “HOWs” and “WHYs” of the research. The researcher can delve deeper into the data by asking open-ended questions. I will address questions of racism by defining the term and demonstrating how it plays out in society. The misuse of the Bible by early white “Christians” in America (the 1600s-1800s) has led to the oppression of many African Americans, including Native Americans. From this oppression comes many different theologies (e.g., Nation Peoples, Africans, Native Americans, and Orientals). Because of this oppression, other groups do not look at God or the Bible (i.e., different religions such as the Muslims and Rastafarian) equally. Some view God as the God of the oppressed. Some believed that the Jews were of a black-skinned people; therefore, blacks were God’s chosen people. Though some view Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, they do not view Jesus as God in the flesh, who came to save humanity from sin. This view would contradict the precept of the Quran, which is believed to be the “verbatim word of God.” The lower-class African Americans view God in a different light than those who oppressed them.
Why does white theology still influence the “African American” church? Could it be the passed-down trauma of oppression affecting the psyche of the Black man? How can we reach a common ground and advance in the mission, preaching the unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ through deed and creed?
