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The Church of Faith and Freedom: African–American Baptists and Social Action
Author(s) -
Lee Shayne
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal for the scientific study of religion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.941
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1468-5906
pISSN - 0021-8294
DOI - 10.1111/1468-5906.t01-1-00159
Subject(s) - faith , politics , conservatism , framing (construction) , sociology , socialization , power (physics) , political action , gender studies , political science , law , theology , social science , philosophy , physics , structural engineering , quantum mechanics , engineering
Clergy have an undeniable ability to shape the political beliefs and attitudes of their congregations and thus revealing how the framing activities of clergy affect behavior and influence mobilization is vital for political sociology. This ethnographic work delineates how, in 1972, the Second Baptist Church of Evanston's new pastor initiated a rapid change from social conservatism to become one of the most politically and socially active African–American Baptist churches in the Midwest. Second Baptist's radical change confirms the power of religious elites in shaping politics in spiritual institutions, and also demonstrates the vital impact of professional socialization on the theological and political orientations of clergy.