Enslaved Africans’ church presence literally shaped white preaching and practice.

Evidence

In these seedbeds of lived American Christianity, both Protestant and Catholic, white Christians received instruction in the faith from white ministers with a “dark, abiding, signing African presence” literally seated behind their backs or above their heads. While not in white congregants’ field of vision during the service, this looming presence shaped what could be practiced (a slave master cannot share a common cup of Christian fellowship with his slaves) and preached (light on Exodus and heavy on Paul) and how white Christians came to embody and understand their faith, generation after generation. — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long, 76

Categorization

• XREF: Directly applies Morrison’s literary method to theology — whites preached light on Exodus and heavy on Paul because blacks were in the room. — connects to: White American churches historically worshipped a Jesus who demanded racial hierarchy. — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 31; The Black church was born in slavery and shaped by its contradictions — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project: A New American Origin…, 1021; White churches partitioned enslaved and later black congregants by seating for centuries — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 75 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• The Black church was born in slavery and shaped by its contradictions #expands (0.75) — Nikole Hannah-Jones et al., The 1619 Project, 1021