African American Religion

African American Religion A Very Short Introduction Oxford Very Short Introductions Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.Oxford University Press, 2014ISBN 9780195182897 Softcover, 160 pp.3.94 X 7.3 X 0.34 inches | 0.32 pounds Since the first African American denomination was established in Philadelphia in 1818, churches have gone beyond their role as spiritual guides in African American communities and have served as civic institutions, spaces for education, and sites for the cultivation of individuality and identities in the face of limited or non-existent freedom.  In this Very Short Introduction, Eddie S. Glaude Jr. explores the history and circumstances of African American religion through three examples: conjure, African American Christianity, and African American Islam. He argues that the phrase "African American religion" is meaningful only insofar as it describes how through religion, African Americans have responded to oppressive conditions including slavery, Jim Crow apartheid, and the pervas