The Contemporary and Indigenous Black Religions and The Role of Women in the African American Religious Experience
For centuries, black people across America have filed into churches on Sundays throughout the year holding services that directly contrast their white counterparts. Oftentimes, people of the same Christian sect will experience vastly different church experiences depending on their racial background. However, a multitude of black people of different Christian sects often find fundamental similarities in their church’s traditions. Many of these traditions are a direct descendant of the traditions and practices of native religious Africans. A few of these connections are exemplified through the practice of fellowship and the tradition of call and response.
Fellowship is undoubtedly a pillar of the contemporary black religious experience. Nearly every Protestant black person in America has some memory of the infamous post service dinner. However, the legacy of black religious fellowship is directly linked to indigenous African traditions. In indigenous African religions, divinity is a daily practice and a way of life. The way one interacts with others is a reflection of their faith and piety. This is in direct contrast with the European Christian tradition which holds Sunday to be the holiest of days. The African principals of fellowship directly connect to the lives of the enslaved through actions such as singing hymns together throughout the day. Additionally, the enslaved population utilized fellowship as a means of rest as well. Due to the slave holder's reverence for Christianity, the enslaved would be permitted to worship for as long as they saw fit on Sundays. This is where the tradition of communion began in the black church. Essentially, the ritualization of communion was used as an excuse to fellowship with one another outside of the workplace. HistoryMaker and corporate executive Paula Ann Sneed remembers her Sunday routine saying,
“Sunday dinner was a smell and a sound. After church [Emmanuel Baptist Church, Malden, Massachusetts], we went to church every Sunday. Sunday school first and then church, so we were there by nine o'clock and we left between twelve and one depending on whether it was communion. And then after church on Sunday there was a classic black Sunday dinner, and typically it was just the three of us, my parents [Furman Turner Sneed and Thomas Sneed] and me but that was the routine and the ritual.”
The indigenous religious practice of call and response bled into the religious life of the enslaved and remains a mainstay in contemporary black Christianity. One of its primary functions was retention. Verbal repetition in indigenous African religions served the purpose of internalizing faith and an expression of understanding. Under the weight of slavery, it helped enslavers teach their captive how to understand and carry out orders, and to emotionally abuse them into remaining in slavery. Another major function of call and response tradition during enslavement was the learning of the English language. Later in history, the same literacy skills afforded by this tradition would influence the likes of Denmark Vesey and Nat Turner. These men were preachers of the enslaved who used their intelligence to lead two of the most influential insurrections in U.S history. HistoryMaker and music expert Delano O’Banion details the structure of call and response in African American spirituals. He says. “The call and response chant form is a form of music where you have a solo or solo section singing one part, and being answered by the chorus, you know. And that was basically what happened in the South… the spirituals are borne out of the souls of the people, you know. The, the art song or the anthems are written--they're written music where maybe somebody's soul, but not out of the souls of the people.”
A Video Detailing the African Originn on Call and Response in African American Music
The woman’s role in the African American religious experience is at the center of its spirituality. In indigenous African practices, the role of women tended to be as an indirect connection to the divine. Positions such as priestess, diviner, and healers highlighted and encouraged their innate ability to communicate with the higher power. Additionally, there was an acknowledgment of the need for gender equality among the polytheistic African religions. Every masculine God had an equally influential Goddess, one whose talents were different, but equally important to the universe. In the modern African American religious experience, the woman’s role is more essential than ever to the survival of the institution, despite being largely blocked from leadership positions.
Indigenous African priestess from Benin, West Africa
In modern African American religions, women make up the majority of the congregation. However, women are discourage, if not outright banned from leadership positions within the Black American church. This hierarchy is best described by HistoryMaker and gospel musician Helen Turner-Thompson. On the roots of African American Christian misogyny she says,
“In some places where I've gone, they have been very careful, the, the minister, you know, as they say, to put you in your place, because we must face it, the really gospel was preached through men. And they sort of relate that back to the era when Christ was on this earth. He chose twelve men. At that time, men were at the forefront. Women were at home behind the scenes; shy, bashful, raising children. And, and then through Paul's era, women began to preach because he said it in the scriptures, "I would that a woman preach rather than teach", and he used them. Romans, chapter sixteen, it names the women that he used. And I think some time when we look at the root of the church, the historical background, how it got its start, then we can relate to the fact that the primitive Baptist Church has no women preachers or for long periods of time the Church of God in Christ did not have women preachers, where in PAW, Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, did entertain women preachers. So it depends on the background of the church, the history of how it started.”
Helen Turner Thompson
Advocating for women’s rights within the African American religion is experience must center respect for women's ideas. Allowing a woman to decide who and what she chooses would further cement her link with the divine. Through self-determination, a woman emulates God’s ability to transcend the very labels God creates. Moreover, a respect for femininity must exist to properly advocate the rights of black women as religious figures. All of life, regardless of religious belief, recognizes the need for balance as a natural and positive force. This is also true for the balance of masculinity and femininity. Permitting and encouraging black women in religious leadership roles would engender a revitalization of religiosity in black American communities. It could also be argued that much like fellowship, this balance should be practiced daily. Allowing people to embrace their femininity without ridicule would affirm the belief that womanhood nothing to be ashamed of. It also would acknowledge the innate spirituality of black women. This delicate balance is mentioned by HistoryMaker and activist Willie Barrow who said,
“We got to come together and recognize each other's and give each other that balance. It's a balance. And the reason why our world is unbalanced is because men are trying to run it all by themselves...The Baptist [church] used to not recognize women, but they do. See I belong to the Church of God. They've always recognized women as leaders. A lot of times they didn't want you to pastor, but you could preach. But now, the Baptist done changed their story. That's another type of reform. And I've always said that women are not objects to, to be manipulated, but they are subjects to be understood. Treat my brain like I got a brain- like God gave it to me.”
Rev. Willie Barrow on behalf of Operation PUSH
It is evident that modern black Christian traditions such as fellowship and call and response are the direct legacy of indigenous African religions. These practices have and continue to shape the black American experience through song, communion, and promotion of literacy. These religious pillars pale in comparison to the role of black women in religious spaces, who continuously display their intrinsic ability to connect with the celestial. Their denial of leadership roles in many contemporary religious spaces should be actively combatted as it hinders their ability to best utilize their talents. Through the balance of divine femininity and masculinity, the modern African American religious experience would be spiritually invigorated.
