Secularization and Religious Alternatives (Detailed) Flashcards
Who wrote “Observations: The Trend of Current Though and Discussion-White and Black Hypocrites”?
Kelly Miller
Who was Kelly Miller?
African American mathematician, sociologist, essayist, and newspaper columnist
Who was known as the “Bard of the Potomac”?
Kelly Miller
Who wrote an open letter in 1917 to Woodrow Wilson in the Baltimore Afro-American against lynching?
Kelly Miller
Where was Kelly Miller in the education debate?
Sought a middle way
What was “Observations: The Trend of Current Thought and Discussion”?
An article in the Chicago Defender, published 1929
What is the message of “Observations”?
That black christians who violate the creed hypocritically denounce white christians
Who wrote “Black America Begins to Doubt”?
George Schuyler
Who was George Schuyler?
African American journalist
What was “Black America Begins to Doubt”?
An article in The American Mercury
What is the point of “Black America Begins to Doubt”?
The Negro church is falling in membership and importance
What 4 points does Schuyler make to support his thesis in “Black America Begins to Doubt”?
- Membership is at a standstill
- Financial support is being withdrawn
- Prestige is waning
- Criticism is growing
According to “Black America Begins to Doubt”, what is the main money problem for the African American church?
The large total of African American church indebtedness
According to “Black America Begins to Doubt”, why is the rural African American church dying?
- Ignorant preachers
- Migration
- Extension of the rural school system
- Better transport
- Fewer youthful recruits
In “Black America Begins to Doubt”, what is the principle function of the rural African American church?
To keep the Negroes docile under the excessive exploitation of their white Christian masters
In “Black America Begins to Doubt”, who does Schuyler compare to the Romanovs?
The number of individuals who are competent enough to cope with the many problems facing the rural Negro church
In “Black America Begins to Doubt”, what does Schuyler compare the illiteracy of urban preachers to?
“No more religion than Stalin”
According to “Black America Begins to Doubt”, what are young African Americans turning to?
Communism
Who wrote “Things Nobody Believes, A Lesson in religion”?
William Pickens
Who was William Pickens?
An African American journalist and essayist
What was “Things Nobody Believes”?
An article in The Messenger, published 1923
According to “Things Nobody Believes”, what do intelligent people not believe?
Half of what an “orthodox” preacher says
Give 5 examples of things cited in “Things Nobody Believes”
- Adam was made out of nothing
- Mohammed was more than simply energetic
- The Whale swallowed Jonah and he survived
- There are material heavens and hells located somewhere
- The Red Sea parted
Who wrote “Who Is Friend of Negro- God or Darrow?””
Rev. A. Wendall Ross
What was “Who Is Friend of Negro”?
- An article in the Pittsburgh Courier, published in 1931
* Response to J. Louis Clarke, who used the logic of Clarence Darrow
Who was Rev. A Wendall Ross?
Pastor of the Mt. Calvary Baptist Church
How does Ross discredit Clarke and Darrow in “Who Is Friend of Negro”?
They admit they are not religious, and so any man that tries to turn the Negro away from the church is a dangerous enemy
Who wrote “The Myth of Hell”?
Rev. Ethelred Brown
Who was Rev. Ethelred Brown?
- Unitarian Jamaican
- Secretary for the Jamaica Progressive League: wanted Jamaican self-government
- Founded the Harlem Community Church in 1921
What was “The Myth of Hell”?
An article in The Messenger, published 1923
What was The Messenger?
An African American magazine founded in 1917, as part of the Harlem Renaissance
What 2 people does “The Myth of Hell” agree with?
Robert G. Ingersoll and William Pickens
What does “The Myth of Hell” call a God who prepares an orthodox hell?
A monstrous fiend
What does “The Myth of Hell” not believe in?
The place of punishment that is the orthodox hell
Who wrote “The Christian Religion”?
Robert G. Ingersoll
Who was Robert G. Ingersoll?
- A white lawyer
- “The Great Agnostic”
- Held radical views on religion, slavery, and female suffrage
- Advocated freethought and humanism
- Attacked the doctrine of Hell
What was “The Christian Religion”?
An article in the North American Review, published in 1881
What was the North American Review?
The first literary magazine in the United States
According to “The Christian Religion”, why was the pulpit losing out?
Because the people are getting more intelligent and asking questions
In “The Christian Religion”, what do some regard the Bible as?
The only means that we have for ascertaining the will of God, the origin of Man, and the destiny of the soul
According to “The Christian Religion”, if the bible was inspired, what does that mean about polygamy and slavery?
That they were at one time divinely sanctioned, as in the bible
According to “The Christian Religion”, what does the presence of 4 gospels imply?
That the bible was not inspired, as, if it were, there would be no contradictions
In “The Christian Religion”, how do OT blood sacrifices contradict the message?
If to make innocence suffer is the greatest sin, then how is it possible to make the suffering of the innocent a justification for the criminal?
According to “The Christian Religion”, why should Jesus have been able to see the future?
Because he was like God
Who wrote the response to “The Christian Religion”?
Jeremiah Black
Who was Jeremiah Black?
Attorney General and Secretary of State
What does Jeremiah Black say Ingersoll is wrong about?
That the foundation of the church is giving way and that there are fundamental changes
According to Jeremiah Black, what are the only changes that are occurring?
Superficial changes in the modes of expression and the methods of attack
According to Jeremiah Black, if the bible were put on trial, it would be found true or untrue?
True
What 2 people were involved in “A Discussion: The Religion of the American Negro”?
Clarence Darrow and Bishop Jones
In “A Discussion”, what does Darrow see revivals as?
Religious orgies
In “A Discussion”, getting rid of what, according to Darrow, would make the African American struggle easier?
Religion
According to Darrow in “A Discussion”, what do Negroes spend too much of their money on?
The Church
According to Jones in “A Discussion”, the church has done what for the race?
The most to uplift the race
Jones, in “A Discussion”, compares Christian civilisation to what?
Pagan Africa
According to Jones in ‘A Discussion”, Negroes should use the church instead of what?
Politics, the Republican party to be specific
In what newspaper was “White Minister Quits, Resenting Ban on Negroes” published?
Baltimore Afro-American
Who was the White Minister in “White Minister Quits”?
Adelbert Helm
Why did Adelbert Helm resign?
His white congregation refused to admit 2 colored candidates to the Christmas Class
In “White Minister Quits”, what would Jesus think of the church if he returned?
That it has been turned into a city club
In “White Minister Quits”, what is the best way to tackle prejudice?
Honest leaders, not through education or the church ministry
Where was “RR. Wright Scores Mencken’s Attacks” published?
Pittsburgh Courier
What was “RR. Wright Scores Mencken’s Attacks” a response to?
An article by Mencken that attacked the clergy
Who was HL Mencken?
White journalist and satirist, who wrote about the Scopes trial
According to Mencken, what had the church done to the negroes?
Impoverished them
How does Wright respond to Mencken’s attacks?
Says that the Negro church has inspired members to economic independence and greatness
Who wrote “Garvey Tells His Own Story”?
Marcus Garvey
Who was Marcus Garvey?
- Jamaican political leader
- Advocate of Pan-Africanism and migration
- Founded UNIA-ACL and the Black Star Line
Who did Marcus Garvey aim his oratory at?
The black masses
For what was Marcus Garvey arrested in 1923?
Mail fraud
According to Garvey, who did he offend in Jamaica?
The “colored gentry” who identified with the whites
According to Garvey, what event sparked race consciousness in the West Indies?
The First World War
When did Marcus Garvey go to the US?
1916
What paper did Garvey found?
The Negro World
When was The Black Star Line founded?
1919
When did The Black Star Line suspend business?
1921
According to Garvey, who brought about his downfall?
Light-skinned Negroes
What did black people need, according to Garvey?
A country of their own
