Although African Diaspora had to cover a long way to mold its unique ecclesial pace, it has finally managed to become the major spiritual, social, political, and cultural institution uniting its followers of African descent. The history of Black Church formation accounts for the fact that its spiritual domain is not detached from the empirical one. This religious community was formed not for abstract philosophical speculations but out of a need to create a secure space where believers can find comfort, healing of body and soul, support, and understanding necessary for developing qualities that, according to their beliefs, shape a human being. Therefore, each individual is viewed as grounded in the Black Church community that values equal relationships between its members and between the self and the universe.1
According to J. A. Joseph, “African-Americans connection to the Black church is directly linked to the overriding belief among African-Americans that service to God is linked to service to humanity.”2 Thus, the paper at hand is going to prove that African Diaspora fully expresses itself in the Black Church as a people-oriented community taking care of its every single member.
Historical Background of the Diaspora Expression in the Black Church
When we attempt to analyze the nature of spirituality in the African Diaspora, it is highly important to remember that the Black Church appeared as a response to slavery. The point is that white landlords often used religion to prove that African people were created with the only purpose – to serve their masters, which should be done immaculately to win a place in heaven. African Diaspora embraced this religion but still introduced certain changes to give people a chance of intellectual and spiritual escape from their humiliating position. From the very beginning, the Black Church gave people power, love, and endurance to tolerate those who oppressed them. It became the only place where they could feel free and welcome.3
It is also worth noticing that the Black Church was not only a place providing comfort and sympathy to its members but also a huge arena where political, social, religious, and other problems were addressed. The idea standing behind its formation was that people do not need pity exclusively – they deserve living a full-fledged life with adequate social participation outside the atrocities of racism. Thus, the religious community served as a solid institution guarding the rights of each.4
One more important historical expression of the African community in the Black Church is its role in the success of the Civil Rights Movement. The Church managed to survive and save its core principles throughout all hardships it had to face. Thus, it was strong enough to provide support to its members in their strivings to find social and political justice and eliminate racial prejudice in society. It organized volunteers and provided the community with the necessary funding. Moreover, it encouraged leadership in the form of spiritual guidance for people not to be afraid to take part in the Movement.5
Thus, it is evident that the Black Church was formed to satisfy the primary needs of the African Diaspora – namely, its desire to find comfort, support, spiritual guidance, and direction for further action. That is why its deep spirituality has always been coupled with purely empirical help in daily-life matters.
The Holistic Essence of the Spiritual Domain Formed by the Black Church
Even though the Black Church was concerned with satisfying the practical needs of the community, it never diminished its spiritual significance. It is believed that both the physical and spiritual realms of a person have to be addressed. The “sin-sick” soul harms the body and must be cured. The spiritual dimension intricately intertwines with the empirical world; therefore, religious practice is understood as a holistic one – soul and flesh, humans and the environment, the dead and the living do not exist separately. This belief stems from the nature of the African Diaspora that has always been deeply collectivistic. African people feel confident when they have a common-shared sense of God who can be accessed at any single moment of joy and hardship.6
The holistic view of the religion steps away from adhering to strict rules but emphasizes human relationships instead. This implies that the vision of a righteous life involves meeting the goals established by the whole community. That is why, if a person possesses certain gifts (such as healing, communicating with spirits, knowing rare languages, etc.), he/she automatically bears a responsibility to share them with the Diaspora and to use them for the good of people. The individual is linked both to God and to other members of the Church. Even the greatest power of healing is understood not as a personal possession but as something supernatural that has to be transferred from one person to another.7
Thus, it can be inferred that the Black Church has managed to form an ecclesial domain that was unique in its holistic nature as it managed to cover all aspects of spirituality making it a collective notion.
The Significance of the Modern Black Religious Community
Although slavery times are over, the African Diaspora continues to be reinforced by the spiritual and financial assistance provided by the Black Church. Its support (especially in times of hardship) is comparable with the support of the family. The Church has committed volunteers and participates actively in the social and political life of its community.8
As a result of such spiritual guidance, the members of the Black Church demonstrate dedication to the active solution of all human problems. For instance, African-Americans donate app. 25% more money to various charity needs than all other groups of the population taken together. Moreover, app. 9 out of 10 donated dollars go to the Church for it to be able to provide food, shelter, and financial assistance to those in need.9
Since the Black Church has always stressed the idea that the spiritual health and the health of the body are interdependent, it is now an active participant in the health care policies of the state. The reality is that the representatives of the African Diaspora are 30% more likely to die of the heart attack, to have diabetes, HIV, and other incurable conditions. The Church encourages health education and disease prevention, weight-loss programs, lectures and seminars at schools and universities, etc. Moreover, many health organizations are already in partnership with the Black Church that allowed them to open their educational centers on its territory.10
Thus, the current mission of the Black Church is the same as it was years earlier: its spiritual care demonstrates itself in every sphere making no difference between race, social status, age, or financial state of those who need its help.
Conclusion
Having analyzed the historical formation of the Black Church and its current interpretation of religion, we can conclude that its deep spirituality stems from the comprehensive function that it has to perform. The African Diaspora finds there not the only comfort for the soul, but also financial and political empowerment, education, health support, and satisfaction of its needs for active social participation, which the Church demonstrates by its example.
Bibliography
Joseph, James Alfred. Black Philanthropy: The Potential and Limits of Private Generosity in a Civil Society. Indianapolis: Association of Black Foundation Executives, 2013.
Mitchem, Stephanie. African American Folk Healing. New York: NYU Press, 2007.
Footnotes
- Stephanie Mitchem, African American Folk Healing (New York: NYU Press, 2007), 19.
- James Alfred Joseph, Black Philanthropy: The Potential and Limits of Private Generosity in a Civil Society (Indianapolis: Association of Black Foundation Executives, 2013), 28.
- Ibid., 38.
- Ibid., 43.
- Ibid., 45.
- Mitchem, African American Folk Healing, 26.
- Ibid., 27.
- Joseph, Black Philanthropy: The Potential and Limits of Private Generosity in a Civil Society, 52.
- Ibid., 54.
- Ibid., 54-55.