The Black Church in America: African American Christian Spirtuality - Paperback

by Michael Battle (Author)

This book gives readers a broad understanding of the Black Church in America and a sense of its uniqueness in the wider world.

• Explores the history of the Black Church in America, its African roots, beliefs, practices, politics, and contemporary moral dilemmas
  
• Argues that in the Black Church, individual and communal destiny are bound together
  
• The author is a Priest in the Episcopal Church and teaches spirituality and Black Church studies at Duke University.

Back Jacket

I am, because we are; and since we are, therefore I am, said Archbishop Desmond Tutu. This strong sense of community, argues author Michael Battle, is central to African American Christian spirituality. Exploring the history of the Black Church in America, its African roots, its beliefs, practices, politics, and moral dilemmas, he gives readers a broad understanding of African American Christian spirituality and a sense of its uniqueness in the wider world.

Michael Battle is Vice President, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Theology at Virginia Theological Seminary . He has previously worked with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and served as an inner-city chaplain with Tony Campolo Ministries. Battle has travelled to Uganda and Kenya with Plowshares Institute, and was ordained in Cape Town, South Africa by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He therefore has a strong affinity with the many forms of African American Christian spirituality.

Author Biography

Michael Battle served as Assistant Professor of Spirituality and Black Church Studies at Duke University and Rector of St. Ambrose Episcopal Church in Raleigh, North Carolina before moving to Virginia Theological Seminary. He was also Vice Chairman of the board of the Ghandi Institute. He is the author of The Church Enslaved: A Spirituality of Racial Reconciliation (2005), Reconciliation in a Violent World (2005) Blessed are the Peacemakers: A Christian Spirituality of Nonviolence (2004), The Wisdom of Desmond Tutu (1999) and Reconciliation: The Ubuntu Theology of Desmond Tutu (1997).