Politics of Accommodation and Resistance in the Black Church. A Gramscian Analysis

This study argues that the church has the capability of fostering ideological resistance to the dominant order and therefore making a profound contribution to the sociopolitical liberation of Black Americans. By developing this position using qualitative research methods in three African-American churches, the work confirms the reality of this potential, showing that a counter-hegemonic approach to church in the Black community is possible. This is significant because many politically active scholars, even African-American radicals, disparage the institution as a politically destructive hegemonic organization that misuses social and economic resources. This study will interest those interested in African-American church and culture, sociology, urban ethnography, social history, and the sociology of religion.