Are American Negro Churches Christian?

Abstract

THESIS: Negro religious institutions have developed a pattern of life totally irrelevant to the Christian faith. The historical conditions which severed Negro religio-socio-theological life from mainstream Christianity have issued in religious compartmentalization. Rooted in racial concerns and emerging through response to social questions, the Negro has little basis for renewal. The hope for the Negro in religion, as in every other aspect of life, lies in full participation within the main-line congregations whose errors are under the judgment of a dynamic theology which seeks to interpret the contemporary mission and message of the church. But, there is no present possibility for the inclusion of Negro religion within the Christian faith; only a few Negros are accepted in Christian communities outside the bond of color. On the way to the inclusion of Negroes into the main-stream the present may best serve as a period of preparation for the future when Negro (qua Negro) institutions will no longer be the only alternative for the Negro who is also a Christian.