tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post3477277245845751701..comments2024-03-26T11:33:59.219-06:00Comments on Religion in American History: Experiential Learning About Race and ReligionPaul Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881964303772343114noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-21036252282731329002012-06-27T15:11:34.223-06:002012-06-27T15:11:34.223-06:00And, by the way, I love _Freedom's Coming_. I...And, by the way, I love _Freedom's Coming_. Its been an inspiration, Ed.Karen Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05298655303333943968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-4353024751716034752012-06-27T15:02:26.034-06:002012-06-27T15:02:26.034-06:00First - I'm glad to hear that there are other ...First - I'm glad to hear that there are other institutions like Spring Arbor committed to teaching students about race experientially. <br /><br />Second, your insightful wondering, Alan, about what has changed and what hasn't changed, I think a lot of it has to do with the civil rights movement and the successful national legislation in 1964 and 1965. This, along with changes in the mortgage industry (see Beryl Satter's _Family Properties_) have made it no longer legal to discriminate - which makes racial inequalities even harder to pin down. (This draws from one of the arguments Hall makes in her 2005 Long Civil Rights movement piece).<br /><br />Perhaps another issue is the privatization of American religion. The Catholics I study believed they could use their faith to change the very structure of American society, and black and white Protestants held similar convictions 60 years ago (I'm thinking of Chappell's _Stone of Hope_ for instance). When religion does enter the public sphere - at least from evangelical voices - the concerns voiced usually have something to do with gay rights or abortion - not race or social inequality. <br /><br />Another issue might be how race and class relate. I'm reading a great book now - Alice O'Conner's Poverty Knowledge_ - which lays out the changing ways social scientists have conceptualized poverty, showing how social scientists have stopped thinking about poverty in terms of the institutional opportunities (job availability, for instance) in favor of viewing it in terms of the individual characteristics of poor people. To me, this sounds a lot like the trend of individualism Emerson describes among white evangelicals.<br /><br />But the question still remains . . . why the shift?Karen Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05298655303333943968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-7172238689266593882012-06-27T09:28:53.322-06:002012-06-27T09:28:53.322-06:00Very nice article. It leaves me wondering what has...Very nice article. It leaves me wondering what has changed and what has not changed in the last -- say -- 60 years. While 60 years ago, most white students would have agreed that race mattered, what they thought it meant was certainly a moving target. But the idea of placing white youth (college, high school) in (religious) setting in which they were the minority was certainly used (at least by some of those deeply involved in the community mission activity of the Southern Baptist Convention) to open the eyes of youth to what it might be like to be the "other" and on the "other side" of the color line.Alan Scot Willisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-31876273537981507822012-06-27T09:26:38.829-06:002012-06-27T09:26:38.829-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.U. P. Image, LLChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11997650594612364538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-68243791697959043002012-06-27T08:52:15.554-06:002012-06-27T08:52:15.554-06:00like, like, like ... oh wait, I'm not on faceb...like, like, like ... oh wait, I'm not on facebook. Thanks so much for this post. All such neat points. I always enjoy Paul's _Freedom's Coming_ for the historical side of white-black interactions/non-interactions and how religion/theology/religious cultures influence the whole.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-58656297342853003422012-06-27T06:33:28.607-06:002012-06-27T06:33:28.607-06:00Thanks, Karen. I share your concern about the cen...Thanks, Karen. I share your concern about the centrality of race and racial division to American identity. In the classroom, I use books like Gary Gerstle's AMERICAN CRUCIBLE and Emerson and Smith's DIVIDED BY FAITH to make that point. Spring Arbor University, where I teach, also invests alot in experiential learning along these lines. Our CORE 200 classes in Issues in Faith and Culture go to Chicago every semester for a weekend. We usually visit churches in Lawndale and Little Village. I took my first group this spring. I led twenty mostly white students on a walking tour of Little Village on a Friday evening. We definitely were a minority, and I even noticed people on porches laughing at us--and I'm certain we were a comical sight. As you note, though, the worst we had to fear were police asking us if we were lost or were looking to buy drugs. We ended up having a greeat meal on 26th street and great visit with people at La Villata Community Church. Our students and myself were definitely changed by our experience. It costs a good deal to send 4-5 classes each semester; but as you note such experiences are priceless.Mark T. Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13687874101232569510noreply@blogger.com