How Did The Black Church Influence The Civil Rights Movement

During the civil rights era, the black church stood as a foundation for the African American community. It was a safe haven for those who felt like they didn’t have a voice outside of the church. The black church used to be a political atmosphere especially for those advocating black rights. It gave blacks the pedestal to vocalize the issues in the community and in the world to the oppressed. This was during a time when African Americans received no respect and were placed at the feet of injustice by the American society. Blacks were not included in social and civic participation outside their communities, which made the church a place for them to engage throughout their own community through church activism. Therefore, they used the church to bring the community together in order to make changes and to overcome the unfair situations they were placed in. Preachers and ministers were considered the leaders of the church and held an

The focus of the church now consists of other worldly matters and providing personal healing instead of addressing the challenges of racial issues. Other researches think that the black church and political action have a great connection between each other. They believe that those who do attend church gain a great amount of networking, self-esteem, and organizational skills that are used in social and community activism. These researches believe that the black church serves as an inspiration for African Americans to be more engaged in political activity. Regardless of the scholarly debate, most political figures have contested to the fact that the black church does indeed have an effect on black votes and are committed in maintaining the connection between their congress and political action. But, there are other trends that are being practiced among the African American church that effects the political