RLGN 222: African American Religions
Fall 2008, TR 1:15-2:30/Yost 101
Instructor Joy R. Bostic
Instructor: Professor Joy R. Bostic
Email: joy.bostic@case.edu
Office: Mather House 303
Phone: 368-2382/258-1808
Office Hours: T/R 3-4 and by appt.
Course Description: This course is an exploration of the rich diversity of African American
religions from the colonial period to the present. Attention will be given to key figures,
institutional expressions as well as significant movements in African American religious history.
Major themes include African traditions in American religions, slavery and religion, sacred
music, social protest, Black Nationalism in religion, Islam, African American women and
religion, and black and womanist theologies. Course requirements will include field trips to local
religious sites.
Course Objectives:
1. Students will gain a basic understanding of the diverse expressions of African American
religions as they have developed, particularly within the United States and the Caribbean.
2. Students will learn some of the fundamental questions and issues involved in the
academic study of African American religions.
3. Students will develop and enhance their critical analytical skills as they wrestle with
questions and issues and establish their own stance.
Course Requirements:
1. In Class Participation (20%): In this course we are all members of a community. Each
of us is an integral part of this community and its collective process. It is important,
therefore, to be present and on time for all class sessions and to have completed all of the
assigned readings. Students are expected to participate in class discussions in thoughtful
and substantive ways. Please bring assigned readings to class so that we can refer to them
during our discussions. Students will also serve as discussion leaders.
2. Field Trip Reflection Papers (20%): There will be four class field trips to local
religious sites. You will write a 2-3 page reflection paper on each. Reflection papers are
to be submitted in class on the Thursday following each field trip.
3. Midterm (30%): There will be a midterm exam on October 16th.
4. Final (30%): There will be a final take home exam. The final exam questions will cover
material from the entire course. The final exam questions will be distributed on Dec. 4
and the exam is due on Dec. 11th at 1pm.
Required Texts:
Murphy, L. G., Ed. (2000). Down by the Riverside: Readings in African American Religion. New
York, New York University Press.
Sernett, M. C., Ed. (1985). Afro-American Religious History: A Documentary Witness. Durham,
NC, Duke University Press.
Raboteau, Albert J. Slave Religion: The "Invisible Institution" In the Antebellum South. New
York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Course Introduction: Methods, Themes, and Issues
Aug. 26-28
Readings: “Introduction” and “Thematic, Contextual Prisms for Understanding
African American Religion,” Part I in Murphy
African Religious Traditions and Black Religion in the Americas
Sept. 2-4
Readings: “The African Heritage,” chs. 1 & 2 in Raboteau; ch. 1 in Sernett
(recommended)
Sept. 9-11
Readings: “Religious Life in the Slave Community,” “Religion, Rebellion and
Docility,” chs. 5 & 6 in Raboteau; chs.11 & 12 in Sernett (recommended)
Film Clips from: Daughters of the Dust
Conversion, Rebellion and the Rise of Protestant Independent Black Churches
Sept. 16-18
Readings: “Sources of Black Denominationalism,” by Mary R. Sawyer, “PreTwentieth Century Islam” by Richard Brent Turner and “Black Women in
Religious Institutions: A Historical Summary from Slavery to the 1960s,” by
Delores C. Carpenter, chs. 7, 8 & 11 in Murphy
20th Century African American Religious Developments
Sept. 23-25
Readings: “A Shift of Locus and Focus: African American Religion and the
Transition into the Twentieth Century,” chs. 16, 17 & 19 in Murphy
Sept. 28**
Field Trip: Pentecostal Church of Christ
10515 Chester Avenue (at corner of E. 105th)
Meet in front of church at 10:45 am
Sept. 30-Oct. 2
Readings: “The Second Emergence of Islam,” by Gordon Melton, “Father Major
Jealous Divine,” by Gary L. Ward and “Black Judaism in the United States,” by
Merrill Singer, chs. 20, 22 & 23 in Murphy; chs. 40, 42 & 43 in Sernett
Oct. 7-9
Readings: “The Development of Gospel Song,” by Lawrence W. Levine, ch. 18
in Murphy; “Singing of Good Tidings and Freedom,” Mahalia Jackson, ch. 47 in
Sernett; “Singing Praise to God in African American Worship Contexts,” by
Melva W. Costen in African American Religious Studies, Gayraud S. Wilmore,
ed. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1989
Video Clips from: Say Amen Somebody!
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Oct. 14-16
Midterm & Review
Oct. 21—No Class
(Fall Break)
African American Religion and Social Protest
Oct. 23
Readings: “’Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel?’ African American Religion and
Social Advocacy,” Part VI in Murphy; “Letter from Birmingham Jail—April 16th,
1963,” Martin Luther King, Jr., ch. 46 in Sernett
Oct. 26th**
Oct. 28
Field Trip: Antioch Baptist Church
8869 Cedar (89th and Cedar)
Meet at Thwing Center at 10:30am
Debrief
Oct. 30
No Class—American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting
Diversity in Contemporary African American Religions
Nov. 4-6
Readings: “Orisha Worship in the United States,” by Anthony B. Pinn, “African
American Yorubas in Harlem and the Transition to Oyotunji Village,” by Tracey
Hucks, chs 25 & 26 in Murphy; Selections from African Immigrant Religions in
America, Jacob K. Olupona and Regina Gemignani, eds.
Video: Legacy of the Spirits
Nov. 11-13
Readings: “The Great Mahdi Has Come! Islam, Nation of Islam, and the
Minneapolis Study Group,” in Varieties of African American Religious
Experience, by Anthony P. Pinn, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998
Class Visit to Local Masjid
Nov. 18-20
Readings: “Claiming a Theological Voice: Black and Womanist Theologies in
the Twentieth Century,” in Murphy; ch. 30 in Sernett
Nov. 23**
Nov. 25
Field Trip: St. Agnes/Our Lady of Fatima
6800 Lexington Avenue
Meet at Thwing Center at 10am
Debrief
Nov. 27
No Class—Thanksgiving Break
Dec. 2-4
Final Review and Course Wrap-up /Take Home Final Questions Distributed
**Indicates Field Trip takes place on a Sunday
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