“We know that we are rooted in Africa, but our sensibilities, our cultural and moral sensibilities, tend not to drive us to appeal for their liberation the same way that we have been driven to appeal for our own,” says Rev. Sean McMillan. More →

August 19, 2005

The national debate over same-sex marriage has posed big challenges for many African-American clergy. Traditionally, black churches have stressed an interpretation of Scripture that opposes homosexuality. But those congregations also have long been at the forefront in fighting for civil rights. What happens when those two values seem to collide? More →

July 16, 2004

Read more of Kelly Hudson’s interview with University of Chicago sociology professor Omar McRoberts about the suburbanization of black churches. More →

February 6, 2004

A growing black middle class and the lack of available land in cities are luring some African-American congregations to the suburbs, depriving their old neighborhoods of the ministries that had served them. More →

February 6, 2004

“Dr. King liked jazz,” says Rev. Michael Haynes of Twelfth Baptist Church in Boston, “I think music is just a wonderful opportunity to bring humans together. And what it did in the civil rights movement – it was the means through which they got inspiration and challenge.” Rev. Haynes invited his brother, renowned jazz drummer Roy Haynes, to be part of a special musical service honoring King. More →

January 23, 2004

The Church of God in Christ, now the fourth largest Christian denomination in the U.S., teaches classic Christian doctrine: the Bible is God’s word. But COGIC members also put special emphasis on the power of the Holy Spirit, of which the surest sign — many say — is speaking in tongues. More →

March 14, 2003

Read excerpts from Kim Lawton’s interview with Robert Franklin on American Protestantism and culture. More →

May 3, 2002

Read more of our interview with Walter Fluker, director and editor of the Howard Thurman Papers Project at Morehouse College. More →

January 18, 2002

Read more of our interview with Dr. Robert Franklin, President of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, who describes prominent African-American scholar and activist Howard Thurman as a “21st-century theologian working in the middle of the 20th century.” More →

January 18, 2002

Should a pastor offer people any counseling on sex other than to maintain abstinence outside of marriage? Does saying anything about safe sex seem to condone behavior the Bible forbids? It’s a real issue in the deep South, especially in black churches, and especially regarding women. More →

January 11, 2002