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The Burden of Black Religion
- Default Title
Description
Central to the story, he argues, was the deep-rooted notion that blacks were somehow "naturally" religious. At first, this assumed natural impulse toward religion served as a signal trait of black people's humanity - potentially their unique contribution to American culture. Abolitionists seized on this point, linking black religion to the black capacity for freedom. Soon, however, these first halting steps toward a multiracial democracy were reversed.
As Americans began to value reason, rationality, and science over religious piety, the idea of an innate black religiosity was used to justify preserving the inequalities of the status quo. Later, social scientists - both black and white - sought to reverse the damage caused by these racist ideas and in the process proved that blacks were in fact fully capable of incorporation into white American culture.
This important work reveals how interpretations of black religion played a crucial role in shaping broader views of African Americans and had real consequences in their lives. In the process, Evans offers an intellectual and cultural history of race in a crucial period of American history.
Product details
Edition:
1
Number of Pages:
394
Release Date:
2008-04-17
Publication Date:
2008-04-14
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Languages:
Original:
English
ISBN10:
0195328183
ISBN13:
9780195328189
GPSR Manufacturer Reference:
Weight:
754 g
Height:
161 cm
Width:
240 cm
Thickness:
26 cm
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