Frazier's study of the black church and an essay by Lincoln arguing that the civil rights movement saw the splintering of the traditional black church and the creation of new roles for religion.

Frazier's study of the black church and an essay by Lincoln arguing that the civil rights movement saw the splintering of the traditional black church and the creation of new roles for religion.

W. E. B. Du Bois was editor and principal author of The Negro Church, first published in 1903. A groundbreaking study, this volume is the first in-depth treatment of African-American religious life. It is the first sociological book on religion in the United States. It is the first empirical study of religion conducted by Black scholars. It is a landmark historical text on African-American religion and mores of a century and more ago. A new introduction provides the contextual backdrop for understanding the religious scholarship and faith of Du Bois. The appearance of this text for a new generation of students, scholars, researchers, and communities of faith is cause to celebrate. Recognition of The Negro Church is long overdue and justly deserved. ""The entire scholarly community and all concerned Americans welcome the reprint of The Negro Church. W. E. B. Du Bois, the most brilliant intellectual ever produced by the United States, penned this social scientific study in 1903. Not only is this the first academic engagement with the black church and black religion. It is also the first text on sociology of religion in American history. Thus Du Bois understood the centrality of black people to the US narrative. Similarly, he understood the centrality of the black church for black communities. Here is scholarship at its best--engaged, theoretical work making a difference in everyday lives. Alton B. Pollard III has offered a masterful introduction for the twenty-first-century reader."" -Dwight N. Hopkins author of Being Human: Race, Culture, and Religion ""No one can have a respectable knowledge of African American Christianity who has not read Woodson's The History of the Negro Church (1921) and Du Bois's earlier sociological study of the same subject, The Negro Church (1903). Now we have a much anticipated new edition of the latter book by one of the late C. Eric Lincoln's brightest proteges, Alton B. Pollard, the dean of the Divinity School of Howard University. Pollard's explanatory and expansive introduction is alone worth the price of the book, making Du Bois's path-blazing opus live again as an indispensable guide to understanding the scope, depth, and paradoxes of classic Black religion and theology today."" -Gayraud S. Wilmore ITC, Honorably Retired ""In editing and providing commentary on The Negro Church, Alton B. Pollard III has provided a valuable and accessible resource for Du Bois scholars and students that is also of interest for general readers."" -Carol B. Duncan Wilfrid Laurier University W. E. B. Du Bois is a towering figure in African-American and US twentieth-century social, cultural, political, and intellectual life. He was a pioneering social scientist, leading literary light, political progressive, and precursor to the modern Black-led movement for freedom in the African Diaspora and on the African continent. DuBois's spiritual disciples and descendants among the world's communities of African descent are numerous. Alton B. Pollard III is Dean and Professor of Religion and Culture at Howard University School of Divinity and is the author of Mysticism and Social Change: The Social Witness of Howard Thurman.

The importance of the church in the life of the Negro justifies the publication of this brief account of the development of the institution. For many years the various denominations have been writing treatises bearing on their own particular work, but hitherto there has been no effort to study the achievements of all of these groups as parts of the same institution and to show the evolution of it from the earliest period to the present time. This is the objective of this volume. Whether or not the author has done this task well is a question which the public must decide. This work does not represent what he desired to make it. Many facts of the past could not be obtained for the reason that several denominations have failed to keep records and facts known to persons now active in the church could not be collected because of indifference or the failure to understand the motives of the author. Not a few church officers and ministers, however, gladly cooperated with the author in giving and seeking information concerning their denominations. Among these were Mr. Charles H. Wesley, Prof. J. A. Booker, and Dr. Walter H. Brooks. For their valuable assistance the author feels deeply grateful. Carter G. Woodson.

Hardcover reprint of the original circa 1921 edition - beautifully bound in brown cloth covers featuring titles stamped in gold, 8vo - 6x9. No adjustments have been made to the original text, giving readers the full antiquarian experience. For quality purposes, all text and images are printed as black and white. This item is printed on demand. Book Information: Woodson, Carter Godwin. The History of The Negro Church. Indiana: Repressed Publishing LLC, 2012. Original Publishing: Woodson, Carter Godwin. The History of The Negro Church, . Washington, D.C.: Associated Publishers, circa 1921. Subject: African American Churches History