Exam 1
In this essay I will be referring to the article, The Negro Church in America written by E. Franklin Frazier. I will be comparing the evolution and function of the Black Church in America with Emile Durkheim’s and Marx’s Theories of religion. I will do this by first providing the background of the African slaves that led to their loss of cultural identity. I will also describe both Emile Durkheim’s and Karl Marx’s theories of religion individually. After this I will describe the evolution and function of the Black Church in America with each of their theories and also how I believe they would react to this same article if they were alive today to read it. First, I will provide information on the African Background that leads into …show more content…
First of all it is important for one to understand that Marx has a very complex attitude towards the Christian religion that has affected his attitude towards all religion in general. One of Marx’s most central believes towards Religion is how Religion is a product of the society that it is in. Marx also believes that through the process of changing ideas one can change the actions of humans. Essentially this means that people can use words as weapons which most people agree can happen. The term the Pen is mightier than the sword has been a very impactful saying in history. Marx also believes that it was whatever roll one is born into in society that determines their consciences. If one is born into a rich family they won’t have any knowledge or concern of someone who is born a slave because they will never be affected by that way of life. Marx is a strong believer that religion is one of the most powerful tools that has been used in the alienation of humans. He writes how religion is used essentially to keep people in their place in life to rule over …show more content…
Above I noted how Durkheim believes that religion is will develop in society no matter what. But what we see in the reading is that early on the Slaves are not developing a religion or even a culture for that matter. One might view this and think that it goes against what Durkheim taught but upon further investigation it does the opposite. Durkheim talks about how religion I formed from out of body experiences found largely from large gatherings or a culture or society. But the reason that the African Slaves are not able to develop a religion is because the slave owners are specifically not allowing the Slaves to have a culture. The Slaves consist of small groups of people that for the most part cannot even communicate with one another. Later on in time however we find that the Slaves are developing their own religion in part because of the increase in numbers of Slaves in America just as Durkheim wrote. The religion the slaves developed was Christianity but not the same Christianity as there white masters. The main Force the Slaves felt in their religion came from the music they sang. It was through this music and working through the hardship that the African Slaves developed a sense of belonging
In this essay I will be referring to the article, The Negro Church in America written by E. Franklin Frazier. I will be comparing the evolution and function of the Black Church in America with Emile Durkheim’s and Marx’s Theories of religion. I will do this by first providing the background of the African slaves that led to their loss of cultural identity. I will also describe both Emile Durkheim’s and Karl Marx’s theories of religion individually. After this I will describe the evolution and function of the Black Church in America with each of their theories and also how I believe they would react to this same article if they were alive today to read it. First, I will provide information on the African Background that leads into …show more content…
First of all it is important for one to understand that Marx has a very complex attitude towards the Christian religion that has affected his attitude towards all religion in general. One of Marx’s most central believes towards Religion is how Religion is a product of the society that it is in. Marx also believes that through the process of changing ideas one can change the actions of humans. Essentially this means that people can use words as weapons which most people agree can happen. The term the Pen is mightier than the sword has been a very impactful saying in history. Marx also believes that it was whatever roll one is born into in society that determines their consciences. If one is born into a rich family they won’t have any knowledge or concern of someone who is born a slave because they will never be affected by that way of life. Marx is a strong believer that religion is one of the most powerful tools that has been used in the alienation of humans. He writes how religion is used essentially to keep people in their place in life to rule over …show more content…
Above I noted how Durkheim believes that religion is will develop in society no matter what. But what we see in the reading is that early on the Slaves are not developing a religion or even a culture for that matter. One might view this and think that it goes against what Durkheim taught but upon further investigation it does the opposite. Durkheim talks about how religion I formed from out of body experiences found largely from large gatherings or a culture or society. But the reason that the African Slaves are not able to develop a religion is because the slave owners are specifically not allowing the Slaves to have a culture. The Slaves consist of small groups of people that for the most part cannot even communicate with one another. Later on in time however we find that the Slaves are developing their own religion in part because of the increase in numbers of Slaves in America just as Durkheim wrote. The religion the slaves developed was Christianity but not the same Christianity as there white masters. The main Force the Slaves felt in their religion came from the music they sang. It was through this music and working through the hardship that the African Slaves developed a sense of belonging