Before and during the Civil Rights era, mass protests were very effective in bringing attention to blatant racial inequalities. How do black churches address racism that seemingly is not there in a post-Civil Rights colorblind era? A growing trend amongst black churchgoers in the post-Civil Rights period is that of megachurches and neo-Pentecostalism. While both black megachurches and neoPentecostal churches tend to preach a theology of self-empowerment, this is just one of a range of theologies that may be preached in these churches. In a content analysis of the 2008 Easter sermons of three neo-Pentecostal megachurches in Maryland, I address how the type of theology preached in black megachurches can correspond with the way a collective racial identity is constructed, which could therefore influence how racism is resisted.

Abstract:In this paper, I analyze the contemporary role of the Black Church in the public sphere. Some argue that despite the historical role of the Black Church in addressing racial inequality, it should not be involved in the public sphere, as there should be a clear separation between church and state. I argue that black churches are filling a gap created by the self-help ideology of a neo-liberal era where addressing the outcomes of contemporary racial inequality is left to private sector organizations, such as churches, rather than the federal government. I assert that the Black Church should remain engaged in the public sphere for two reasons: first, black churches are operating in the absence of state welfare rather than as an alternative to it and second, black churches are among the few institutions providing race-specific remedies that have been abandoned in a colorblind era.

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