,the ,american ,negro ,academy4         
,,occasional ,,papers ,,no4 #aj4        
,the ,defects of the   ,negro ,church4  
,,by ,,orishatukeh ,,faduma4     ,,price
 ,,fifteen ,,cents4    ,,washington1 ,d4
 ,c43   ,published by the ,academy1     
#aijd     ,the ,defects of the ,negro   
,church4   ,the writer does not         
undertake to point out all the defects  
of the ,negro church4 ,he does not lay  
any claim to omniscience4  ,the limits  
of time and the scope of the subject    
prevent him from discussing even what he
 knows in part4 ,it is only some of the 
leading defects in the ,negro ,church   
which will be presented for discussion4 
,it may be necessary to state at the    
onset that the writer is an optimist in 
his studies of questions relating to his
 race4 ,if at any time he is compelled  
to use the surgeon's knife he will do so
 with the utmost sympathy and with a    
view to heal4 ,it may also be necessary 
to state1 in order to allay the fears of
 our friends and prevent the reckless   

criticism of our detractors1 that the   
defects of the ,negro church are found  
more or less in churches of other races4
 ,they are the same in kind but differ  
in degree1 on account of difference in  
environment4 ,they are not inherent in  
the race1 but are found wherever the    
environments call for them4 ,it may be  
laid down as an axiomatic truth that    
there has never been and there is not a 
perfect church4 ,of the twelve men who  
formed the nucleus of the ,christian    
church and who had the advantage of the 
personal teaching of the ,christ1 one   
was a doubter1 another was              
worldly-minded1 a betrayer1 and a son of
 perdition who sought relief from the   
stings of conscience by                 
self-destruction2 a third was a deserter
 and vacillator1 who drew from the great
 apostle of the ,gentiles a stinging    
rebuke for stultifying his conscience   
during that exciting controversy which  
was to settle once for all whether      
,christianity was to be a racial or a   

universal religion4 ,but because there  
never was a perfect church is no reason 
why we should speak lightly or condone  
the defects of the ,negro ,church4 ,our 
ideal of the ,negro ,church is one which
 will have as few defects as possible4  
,if we expose these defects it is       
because our aim is to correct them so as
 to reach as near as possible our ideal4
 ,we hope we shall not be misunderstood 
if we submit for investigation the      
following defects in the ,negro ,church4
   ,i4 ,,the ,,tendency ,,to ,,lay      
,,stress ,,on ,,outwardness ,,rather    
,,than ,,inwardness4  ,all life is known
 by its manifestations4 ,the latter is  
the outcome1 the effect of the former4  
,the manifestations of life cannot by   
any means be more important than the    
life which makes them possible4         
,christianity is a religion of          
inwardness1 it finds its root in the    
heart and soul of man1 then effects the 
outward life4 ,whenever the inner or    
spiritual life is renewed1 there follows

 from necessity a renewed exterior4     
,there must be first life in the soul4  
,nor can there be any evolution of the  
soul or of society without a previous   
involution in them4 ,the whole nature of
 man must be wrapped up in the image of 
,god before any fruits of ,godliness    
show themselves4 ,the tendency in the   
,negro ,church is to look for these     
manifestations rather than to work for  
the indwelling spirit who is the cause  
of such manifestations4 ,parallel with  
this tendency in the church1 is the     
effort which is being made after        
expression of religious life when it    
should be directed along the line of    
impressing it4 ,the church is in need of
 a deep spiritual life1 nevertheless it 
is impossible to express what is not    
previously impressed in the mind4       
,there is a form of oratory prevalent   
among us1 a mere jingle of sounds1 an   
expression of nothing of much value4    
,under its spell the man of the world is
 caught1 received into the church as a  

convert1 but not being impressed with   
the divine life and ideal1 he soon falls
 away4 ,the mad rush after quantity     
rather than quality of converts is      
another indication of the outwardness of
 religion in the church4 ,one of the    
most significant words spoken by ,christ
 was1 ,many are called but few chosen4  
,the church seems to be carried away    
with the idea of the extension of ,god's
 ,kingdom when it does not sufficiently 
grasp the idea of its intension4        
,because there is not depth in spiritual
 life1 not intensiveness in the culture 
of souls1 the church does not gain much 
in expansion4 ,again1 the church is an  
organization1 but an organization       
presupposes an organ4 ,it is evident    
that if the organ--the instrument upon  
which all order and arrangement         
depend--is out of gear1 the organization
 is valueless4 ,all attempts to organize
 men without a spiritual organ must be a
 failure4 ,the organization of a church 
is more than the putting together of    

bricks and other dead materials1 it is  
the bringing together1 in an orderly    
manner1 of living souls possessed with  
spiritual power and renewed in the image
 of ,god4 ,there is another form of     
outwardness to which the ,negro church  
is tending at oneself and valuing       
oneself from appearance4 ,it tends to   
make religion a puppet show4 ,the growth
 of the church is estimated at number of
 dollars collected1 number of churches  
built1 and number of followers4 ,the    
,negro is prone to fall into this error 
because of the many denials his critics 
make of his ability in self-government4 
,it leads him to make a parade of his   
religion and a show of his capabilities4
 ,the purpose of religion is to deepen  
the spiritual life and help men to be in
 harmony with ,god and nature1 not to   
satisfy critics and detractors4 ,the    
work of the church is to lead men to    
have in full measure the life and light 
of the ,spirit4 ,it is in the nature of 
life and light whenever and wherever    

found to be active4 ,they will assert   
themselves if they are in the church1   
not in a boastful spirit but with       
,christian modesty4 ,cause must precede 
effect4 ,the foundation of the church   
must be securely laid before its        
superstructure is attempted4 ,there must
 be a base of supply before the army    
marches to battle4  ,i have attempted to
 indicate briefly in what lines the     
church is exposed and is tending to     
outwardness4 ,it lays greater stress on 
evolution of life2 in eagerness for the 
expression of its life it neglects its  
impression2 it emphasizes extensiveness 
rather than intensiveness1 quantity     
rather than quality2 it runs after the  
gewgaws of religion and does not look   
inward1 deep down in the soul2 its      
organization lacks an organ with a      
spiritual life deep enough to suppress  
worldliness4   ,,ii4 ,,neglect ,,of     
,,rural ,,communities4  ,another defect 
of the ,negro church is her neglect of  
rural communities4 ,from eighty to      

eighty-five per cent of the race is to  
be found in our small towns where       
ignorance and superstition prevail to an
 alarming extent4 ,among the causes of  
this neglect are3  7#a7 ,the need of    
adequate funds for the support of       
churches4  7#b7 ,the need of suitable   
men for these churches4  7#c7           
,discrimination made by church          
authorities in the sending of their best
 men to fill city churches on account of
 inadequate funds in the country        
churches4  7#d7 ,the poverty of country 
churches and their inability to provide 
for the support of their pastors1       
especially those who are needed most in 
cities4  7#e7 ,the repulsiveness of     
rural districts on account of inadequate
 protection and little justice given to 
the ,negro4  ,where there are           
supplementary grants or a reserve fund  
as aids to struggling churches1 better  
work is done and suitable men are seen  
in the country churches4 ,suitable men  
are so rare that the city churches      

easily keep them by the offer of larger 
salaries4 ,even the city's need is not  
yet fully met4 ,the demand is greater   
than the supply in both places but still
 greater in the country4 ,for this      
neglect of country churches1 a neglect  
by no means wilful1 what are the        
results8 ,we may mention a few4  7#a7   
,country pastors are often compelled to 
take to other callings1 their church    
work being supplementary and subsidiary4
 ,hence energy needed for pastoral and  
pulpit work is dissipated in the effort 
to make a living4  7#b7 ,the            
paganization of ,christianity4 ,one of  
the saddest things that has happened to 
,negroes in our rural districts is the  
presentation to them of ,christianity in
 a crude1 uncouth1 and distorted form4  
,it is a form of ,christianity with the 
,christ left out4 ,the songs of the     
church1 its prayers and experiences are 
there but in a mutilated form1 divested 
of their spiritual significance4 ,the   
,big ,meeting1 or revival meeting often 

gives an opportunity for a revival of   
the latent paganism in the ,negro4 ,the 
weird songs1 the wild excitement of the 
people followed by the unchaste         
exposures and hysteria of women1 the    
physical agony and wallowing on the     
floor1 and the violent physical         
gymnastics among both sexes is a species
 of voodooism imported from the religion
 of heathen ,africa4 ,it is deplorable  
because its after effects are           
demoralizing4 ,the situation is grave   
and calls for rebuke1 because it is     
deeply entrenched in our country        
churches and is encouraged by pastors   
who ought to point out a better way4 ,in
 ,africa ,christianity is displacing    
paganism1 in rural ,america paganism is 
displacing ,christianity4 ,our rural    
population is confronted with a form of 
,christianity which does not civilize4  
,since the corruption of the best thing 
is the worst thing1 it may be fairly    
stated that ,christianity is receiving  
an unfair treatment in a professedly    

,christian country from a professedly   
,christian people4  7#c7 ,funds being   
inadequate to support country churches1 
and men qualified to fill them being few
 even if funds were at hand1 there      
follows as a necessity the employment of
 unqualified men to fill vacancies4 ,so 
pressing is the need for preachers that 
in many cases any kind of men rather    
than no men at all seems to be the best 
that can be done4 ,hence some men accept
 appointments for what they can get out 
of them4 ,fitness in any form is out of 
the question in many of these           
appointments4 ,the country churches have
 therefore become the dumping ground    
where pastors sink or swim4 ,there too  
may be found a host of immoral          
preachers4 ,this fact in itself creates 
a prejudice in the minds of a class of  
preachers against accepting country     
appointments4 ,it is only the few who   
are strongly imbued with a missionary   
spirit that are willing to labor and    
lift up the standard in the interest of 

,god and fallen humanity4 ,one of the   
surest ways of breaking down this       
prejudice is for the churches to send   
some of their best men to country       
churches and provide for their support4 
,missionary societies aiming at best    
results send some of their best men as  
pioneers and bishops to the heathen4 ,it
 is only by a selective method of       
appointing men to our country churches  
that these places can be reclaimed from 
heathenism and immorality4 ,it is only  
then that the wilderness and the        
solitary place shall be glad1 and the   
desert shall rejoice and blossom as the 
rose4   ,,iii4 ,,the ,,negro ,,ministry4
  ,one of the defects of the ,negro     
,church is the defect in the culture of 
its ministry4 ,in spite of all that has 
been said and done to create prejudice  
against the higher education of the     
,negro1 statistics have failed          
everywhere to show that our schools have
 turned out a large percentage of       
,college or ,university graduates4      

,there are a few ,college or ,university
 graduates in the ranks of our ministry4
 ,a larger percentage has failed even to
 get through a ,high ,school course4    
,the defect in scholarship and culture  
constitutes a grave problem in our      
church life4 ,the leader of a people    
must be a man of broad culture1 wide    
sympathies1 and in touch with all the   
varied interests of the people4 ,it is  
not enough to be able to read the ,bible
 or pass an examination in              
denominational theology4 ,the modern    
teacher and preacher of today must be   
acquainted with the humanities4 ,if not 
a scientist he must know the trend of   
scientific thought and its relation to  
the ,bible4 ,the best poetry of nations 
should be at his command on account of  
the refining influence which it has     
always exercised on mankind in all ages4
 ,the masterpieces of the world's best  
prose writers1 the history of art1 the  
study of the philosophy of history1 and 
the too neglected study of the history  

of ethnic religions must be in his      
possession1 not simply in the library of
 his home but in the library of his     
mind4 ,most if not all of these studies 
may be prosecuted outside the college1  
but the college curriculum has the      
advantage of system which the average   
preacher does not have4 ,college and    
,university courses are excellent1 not  
so much for what one can remember out of
 the many things studied in them1 but   
for the system and mental discipline as 
well as the social culture through which
 one passes4 ,the interests of the      
church demand that the pulpit shall lead
 the pew4 ,considering the influence    
which the ,negro ministry has over its  
laity1 the demand becomes more and more 
imperative4 ,it is not a learned        
ministry but a cultured ministry1 a     
ministry with higher tastes and         
aspirations1 a ministry which in spite  
of the materialism of the times will    
make the time to study and see the      
beautiful1 the good1 and the true1 in   

,god's handiwork4 ,it is this lack of   
culture which makes many a preacher     
narrow-minded4 ,to them the beauties of 
nature are dead4 ,to their barren minds 
nature is a barren wilderness4  7#b7    
,from being uncultured the ,negro       
ministry finds it an easy descent to    
being immoral4 ,it must be borne in mind
 that all the defects enumerated of the 
ministry or laity are defects not of the
 whole ministry or laity1 but are       
defects found among them to a large     
extent4 ,the salvation of the church and
 the race is due to the faithful few1   
pure and noble men and women among us4  
,they are the salt of the race and are  
growing in numbers as years increase4   
,the future is full of hope4 ,it is     
painful nevertheless to know that there 
is still a large number of immoral      
preachers1 though not as large as there 
used to be4 ,churches and church        
authorities1 and the educated sentiment 
of the race are on the alert and are    
quickly displacing these men whenever   

they are found4 ,in the conflict of the 
church with the ,titan of immorality1   
the church needs as helpers1 men with a 
hundred hands like ,briareus to hold    
down this elusive monster4 ,the term    
immorality may include all kinds of     
conduct which the custom of our times   
supported by enlightened sentiment      
disapproves4 ,but the object of the     
writer is not to charge the ,negro      
ministry with all kinds of misdemeanors4
 ,there is only one kind of conduct     
which is so far-reaching in its results 
because it is fundamentally subversive  
of and destructive to the best interests
 of society1 that the writer wishes to  
bring up as a defect of our ministry4   
,it is sexual unchastity4 ,there are    
causes for this depravity among a       
certain class of ,negro ministers4 ,it  
is not a constitutional disease in the  
,negro as many of the detractors of the 
race have affirmed4 ,acquaintance with  
the ancestral life of the ,african shows
 without the shadow of a doubt that the 

morality of the heathen as relates to   
sexes is part of the religion of most   
,african tribes before they are brought 
into contact with a foreign             
civilization4 ,plantation life in       
,american society where illicit sexual  
intercourse was the rule and not the    
exception1 fostered and encouraged by   
white masters of the past1 and still    
practised though less extensively by    
white men1 is a product of ,anglo-,saxon
 civilization4 ,the environments of     
country life encourage illicit living1  
and to men already reared among them are
 a snare4 ,some of these environments   
are found in the log-cabin in which     
families are crowded together like      
cattle1 and sexual privacy and decorum  
are impossible4 ,the plantation         
log-cabin finds its counterpart in the  
slums of cities with their crowded      
alleys4 ,the landlord in both cases is  
at the bottom of these evils4 ,it is but
 fair to state that these environments  
when found in the cities or among the   

peasantry of ,europe1 as in ,france and 
,russia1 reveal social evils even worse 
than those found among ,negroes in the  
,united ,states4 ,but the point we wish 
to emphasize is this1 that environments 
help to make the man1 and the man helps 
to make his environments4 ,there is a   
class of men among ,negro preachers     
whose environments have not been other  
than those in the plantations1 these are
 the men who are unfit to be the leaders
 of the people4 ,when on account of     
their natural ability and gift of speech
 they are set aside as preachers1 it    
only gives them a larger opportunity to 
demoralize themselves and those with    
whom they come into contact4 ,it will   
always take men of the strongest moral  
fibre in any race to elevate those who  
live either in the slums of cities or in
 the cabin life of plantations1         
otherwise the gain to ,christian        
missions will be in quantity rather than
 quality4 ,hence the need of specific   
training of the best kind in schools    

where students of the race will find    
healthy environments to inspire them to 
higher and nobler living4 ,hence the    
need of higher education for the race   
because it subjects the recipient to an 
atmosphere of healthy environments long 
enough to saturate his life4 ,for his   
own interest the ,negro preacher should 
do his utmost to improve the social     
condition of his people in city or farm1
 since that condition reflects for good 
or evil upon his own character4  #c4    
,one of the best results of the         
,protestant reformation is the diffusion
 of ,god's word among the people4       
,through the reformation the ,bible     
ceased to be tongue-tied4 ,its history1 
poetry of war and love1 its tragedy1 its
 simple gospel stories of the ,christ   
comprise a literature that is           
unsurpassed1 and a revelation of ,god   
that is unique4 ,but the ,bible can only
 be intelligently understood by the     
people when the mind of the people is   
prepared to receive it4 ,one of the     

worst results growing indirectly out of 
the ,protestant reformation1 is the     
creation of an ignorant priesthood and  
the reducing of the ,bible to a fetich4 
,it follows as a matter of course that  
where the ministry is uncultured1 the   
interpretation of the word of ,god      
suffers4 ,the spirit of ,god can not do 
what man is intended to do4 ,he can only
 illumine where the mind is prepared to 
pass through the process4 ,revelation   
requires a medium1 otherwise it is      
powerless4 ,to understand the mind of   
,god in the ,bible presupposes a mind to
 comprehend ,his mind4 ,with the        
,negro's deficient ministry1 religion   
becomes irreligion4 ,he believes too    
much in the non-essentials of religion1 
his heaven and hell are too much in the 
distant future1 he prays that after     
death he may go to heaven but sees no   
heaven on earth4 ,the new heaven and the
 new earth which ,john saw and the new  
,jerusalem coming down from ,god to man 
are antipodal to his conceptions4 ,his  

,god is seen going up to some cloudless 
region instead of coming down to        
tabernacle with men4 ,his sermons feed  
the feelings but neglect the intellect  
and will1 they tickle the ear and       
subordinate truth to eloquence4 ,the    
greater emphasis he puts on churchianity
 is a loss to ,christianity4 ,the       
contribution which modern thought is    
making to ,biblical interpretation is   
sealed to him4 ,he pursues his beaten   
path along the old ruts of              
ecclesiasticism4 ,he believes in a      
revelation which is non-progressive and 
whose distinctive feature is sameness   
for all times4 ,he is painfully liberal 
in the construction of the ,bible4 ,he  
thinks he is a curse himself according  
to the prophet ,noah1 for he has not yet
 discovered the distinctive and         
conditional element in prophecy4 ,his   
theology is in the main denominational  
and is like the laws of the ,medes and  
,persians which admit of no change4 ,his
 mind does not discriminate between the 

ipse dixit of the ,almighty and external
 authority in matters relating to dogma4
 ,in the pulpit he lacks decorum1 deep  
spirituality1 and contemplation4 ,his   
oratory is thunderous1 too physical1 and
 lacks grace and beauty4  ,much praise  
is due to those denominations whose     
forethought has led them to spend       
considerable time and pains to prepare  
men for the gospel ministry4 ,in quality
 of preaching and teaching1 and in      
results already achieved1 the race owes 
much to this as yet small band of       
workers4 ,like the leaven hidden in the 
meal its influence is being felt in the 
church1 in the farm1 and in the         
firesides of the people1 and is destined
 to overthrow ignorance1 immorality1 and
 superstition4 ,with the continued aid  
of well-equipped mission schools which  
must be the base of supply for our      
churches1 and the training of a new type
 of men such as the modern church       
demands1 the moral change so much hoped 
for will be hastened4  #d4 ,the         

world-spirit is in the churches and has 
taken hold of our ministry4 ,a large    
part of church duties which should be   
performed by laymen is shirked and      
placed upon the minister's shoulders4   
,the result is that the minister is     
often overburdened with secular matters1
 is forced to leave the word and serve  
tables and loses much spirituality4     
,when a minister's success depends      
largely and primarily upon amount of    
dollars raised by him his spiritual     
decline is rapid4 ,worldliness follows  
when desire for position or recognition 
in the church overcomes the desire to   
save men1 and when the ordinary tricks  
of politics are resorted to in order to 
gain church distinctions4 ,it is a      
reversal of ,christ's order1 ,seek first
 the ,kingdom of ,god and his           
righteousness and all these things shall
 be added unto you4 ,these other things 
are eagerly desired in place of the     
first things4 ,the more elaborate the   
organization of a church is1 the larger 

is the number of preferments to offices1
 and greater the opportunity given to   
office seekers to make these the first  
things4 ,the best men in any church are 
not always those who hold its highest   
offices4 ,too much organization in the  
church leads to too much officialism and
 worldliness1 for where the carcass is1 
there will the vultures be gathered     
together4   ,,iv4 ,,the ,,laity4  ,the  
laity lack much consecration4 ,the      
things of this world and the desire for 
them press more heavily upon their minds
 than the extension of ,god's cause4    
,their ,christian consciousness is not  
trained1 hence their sense of duty is   
not high4 ,they depend too much on      
spasms of effort and frequent appeals to
 the emotions in the performance of     
duty4 ,their idea of the gospel is too  
confined to hearing sermons on ,sunday4 
,their gospel does not touch the many   
interests of life4 ,their virtues are   
not concrete4 ,holiness1 purity1 love1  
truth1 beauty1 justice1 goodness are    

metaphysical abstractions4 ,too much    
self-centred and self-seeking1 they make
 little or no sacrifice for others4     
,many self-supporting churches do not   
shelter weaker ones and have no thought 
for the heathen4 ,there are churches    
that are fortunate in having in their   
official boards men of culture1 piety1  
and business experience1 but these are  
virtues very rarely found in the same   
men4 ,business methods are often low in 
churches because of the difficulty of   
finding strictly business men among the 
laity4 ,in the erection of churches the 
spirit of ostentation rather than       
worship is dominant4 ,the immorality of 
debt not being known1 churches are very 
often built without regard to the       
financial inability of the people1 and  
deceive by suggesting rich parishioners 
when the people are very poor and live  
from hand to mouth4 ,many disruptions   
between pastors and churches could have 
been avoided were church finances not   
kept in a confused state4 ,pastor's     

salaries and other church obligations   
are not raised and met in a systematic  
way1 but are left to appeals to the     
feelings of the people whose ethical    
sense has not been cultivated4 ,we have 
thus enumerated among the defects of the
 laity1 worldliness1 untrained          
,christian consciousness1 restricted    
meaning of the gospel1 the              
non-concreteness of the ,christian      
virtues1 and the lack of a missionary   
spirit and of business methods4   ,v4   
,,excessive ,,emotionalism ,,in         
,,worship4  ,paradoxical as it may seem1
 in religion the ,negro's emotions      
constitute his strongest as well as his 
weakest point4 ,the fact that he is     
largely developed in the emotional side 
of his nature would1 other things being 
equal1 give him a vantage ground in     
matters of religion4 ,his defect is not 
that he is emotional1 but that he is    
excessively so4 ,like other races in    
their childhood1 he is a bundle of      
feelings4 ,he does not think after ,god1

 he does not will after ,god1 but he    
feels after ,god4 ,he is not driven to  
action because he is impelled by a moral
 imperative1 the law of duty1 but he is 
controlled by his nerves which are his  
thermometer4 ,with the nerves as his    
guide it is impossible to tell where he 
stands on many moral questions4         
,neurotic environments appeal quickly to
 him1 and are fostered by the church in 
sermons which appeal largely to the     
imagination1 in weird pictures of the   
unseen1 in apocalyptic sermons1 and by  
mystic preachers known as mourners1     
shouters and visioners4 ,as a subject of
 experimentation in physco-physics1 the 
most fitting time is in seasons of      
revival in religion when his emotion is 
keyed to the highest point4  ,the       
following stages may be noticed3  7#a7  
,violent physical commotion followed by 
physical exhaustion4  7#b7 ,loss of     
physical control4  7#c7 ,loss of moral  
control4 ,at this stage there is a      
feeling of abandon leading often to     

unchaste exposure of the person1 wild   
cries as if demented1 and all kinds of  
extravagances4  7#d7 ,mental infection  
as well as emotional panic4 ,at this    
stage there is pandemonium4 ,many obtain
 religion by the process of infection4  
7#e7 ,a lowered physical as well as     
moral vitality4 ,at the last meeting of 
the ,british ,association for the       
,advancement of ,science1 a thoughtful  
paper by ,dr4 ,graham of ,ireland showed
 that there was less insanity among     
,roman ,catholics than ,protestants in  
,ireland1 due to difference in type of  
religion1 ,protestants of ,ireland being
 intensely morbid and ascetic in their  
,calvinism4 7,congregationalist1 ,nov4  
#bi1 #aijb1 p4 #gha47 ,i should not be  
surprised1 if investigation was made1   
that similar results would be seen in   
,america not only between ,protestants  
and ,roman ,catholics1 but among        
,protestants themselves4 ,i should not  
be surprised that there were fewer      
maniacs among ,presbyterians and        

,congregationalists than among ,baptists
 and ,methodists4 ,may not students of  
physco-physics make this a study for the
 benefit of religion8 ,to the use of    
emotions in religion the writer has no  
objections1 he is heartily in favor1 but
 he seriously objects to excessive      
emotionalism for the following reasons3 
7#a7 ,it fails to recognize the moral   
and ethical judgment4  7#b7 ,it fails to
 recognize the volitional side of human 
nature4 ,with a man's will-power        
dormant1 undeveloped1 unknown1 all      
attempt at really training and moulding 
the character is foolish because        
impossible4 ,man sometimes attempts it2 
,god never does4 ,he calls into activity
 first of all a man's will4 ,he seeks to
 know what a man's own free choice is4  
,then he knows what course to follow in 
his schooling of the soul4#a  7#c7 ,it  
fails to recognize the rational side of 
human nature4  7#d7 ,it is at variance  
with our concrete experience of life4   
,in our daily experience we think1 feel 

and will for action4  7#e7 ,it is sickly
 feminine and appeals to neurotics4     
,there are some general facts in        
connection with the philosophy of       
religion which are often overlooked in  
the study of the ,negro religion4 ,two  
stages may be noticed in the history of 
the religious development of peoples1   
the primitive and the rational4 ,the    
primitive stage is poetical and         
imaginative1 in fact religion is then in
 its barbaric state4 ,in its rational   
stage we see the religious man under a  
developed rule of conduct4 ,he still    
feels but his feelings are controlled by
 reason4 ,there is nothing new in the   
religion of the ,negro4 ,he is by no    
means a peculiar man from a religious   
standpoint4 ,the physical contortions   
and gyrations noticed in his ,christian 
worship are as old as the history of    
religion itself1 if not older than it4  
,in his worship we may see things which 
are found in the heathen rites of the   
native ,african1 in the ,bacchanalia of 

the ,greeks1 among the ,sali or dancing 
priests of the ,romans1 and among the   
,corybantes4 ,the same effect which is  
produced on the feelings of the ,negro  
has been produced on the feelings of the
 ,american ,indian1 as well as on the   
ancient bards of ,scotland1 ,ireland1   
,wales1 and ,germany4 ,lord ,macaulay1  
describing the ,puritan1 says3 ,in his  
devotional retirement he prayed with    
convulsions1 and groans1 and tears4 ,he 
was half maddened by glorious or        
terrible illusions4 ,he heard the lyres 
of angels or the tempting whispers of   
friends4 ,he caught a gleam of the      
,beautific ,vision1 or woke screaming   
from dreams of everlasting fire4 ,in the
 girlhood days of the late ,elizabeth   
,cady ,stanton her sensitive mind was   
nearly overbalanced1 and she suffered   
terribly from the too vivid description 
of future punishment by the emotional   
,finney4 ,the imagery of the ,book of   
,revelation has a peculiar effect on the
 feelings of the ,negro4 ,its mysticism 

acts like a spell over him4 ,says       
,macaulay1 ,the ,greek ,rhapsodists1    
according to ,plato1 could not recite   
,homer without almost falling into      
convulsions4 ,the ,mohawk hardly feels  
the scalping knife while he shouts his  
death song4 ,the ,dijazerti in the      
region of the ,sahara believe that      
communication with ,allah is only       
possible in a state of trance1 and      
accordingly they work themselves into a 
religious frenzy1 while the ignorant    
among them repeat the name of ,allah    
many thousand times till they fall into 
a state of unconsciousness4  ,we do not 
wonder1 considering the primitive state 
of religion1 why men were spell-bound   
under its influence4 ,it is all the more
 conspicuous in tropical natures1 for   
there youth is exuberant4 ,in all       
primitive states of religion we notice  
the same abandonment1 the same illusions
 produced on the imagination1 the       
contortions of the body1 the child-like 
credulity1 the superstition1 the        

depression1 and exaltations of the      
feelings1 the agony1 the ecstasy1 the   
plentitude of belief4 ,they are the     
complement of barbaric faith1 and not a 
peculiarity of the ,negro4 ,if in these 
primitive conditions we see the ,negro  
tickled by a straw1 or frightened by a  
ghost1 or in moments of ecstasy         
spreading out his hands in an attempt to
 fly up to heaven without dying1 these  
are the natural concomitants of such    
conditions4 ,we pity1 rather than       
censure him1 more especially when we    
remember that for two hundred years in  
the house of bondage1 his wild1         
primitive nature was left untrained4    
,what is needed for the proper religious
 development of the ,negro is education1
 not repression or subjugation of his   
feelings4 ,we cannot emphasize this fact
 too much4 ,there is the danger1 in the 
zeal of preserving the holy ark1 of     
defiling it by unholy contact4 ,the     
,negro needs more thought in his        
religion1 but religion is not all       

thought4 ,to have a proper balance in   
religion as in every-day life1 the      
faculties of thought1 feeling1 and      
volition must be present1 distributed in
 fair proportions4 ,when reason is      
overfed in the exercise of religion1 the
 result is a dry and barren rationalism4
 ,when the emotions are overfed the     
result is a wild and sickly             
sentimentalism1 a neurotic religion4    
,footnote3  #a ,the divine method of    
,inquiry4 ,biblical ,world4 ,dec4 #aijb1
 p4 #dej4     ,transcriber's ,notes3    
,passages in italics are indicated by   
underscore4  ,the  misprint soons has   
been corrected to soon 7page #d74