Chapter Four contributes to my dissertation topic because it brings me closer to developing a discourse on how the church portrays Black female characters, in American literature. I will focus on the National Baptist Convention, which was the largest religious movement within the Black community. I will examine The Second Great Awakening (1790-1840), which, according to researchers, was considered the defining event in the advancement of Black’s Christianity at that time. I will explore reasons why many Blacks joined the Baptist church after the Great Awakening and how this influx in membership lead to Black female’s participation in praise and worship in addition to their roles as elders and
