American Christianity and its Role in the Denigration of the African-American Identity as Found in African-American Literature

The positive effects of American Christianity on the African-American from slavery to present day are often analyzed in African-American literature, which depicts black characters who are grateful to God, mostly for giving them the strength to endure the many social and psychological abuses inflicted by American institutions. African-American literature, however, also depicts characters whose relationship with Christianity subordinates them in American society. The following chapters will explore the downfalls and ironies of an African-American/Christian dichotomy, and show how the historical events of America have influenced African-American Christianity. Chapter One gives a historical account of America's involvement in the Transatlantic slave trade and gives insight into colonial uses of Christianity as a tool for controlling slave communities. Chapter Two seeks to answer the question: Why would African-Americans seek salvation in the same ideologies traditionally used by their oppressors to stagnate their progress? In Chapter Three an account of the deferred promises and dreams of African-Americans during and after World War I, gives insight into the religious dissension of writers like Nella Larsen and Langston Hughes who elicit an open disbelief in God. Chapter Four focuses on the irony of black women being traditionally more devout than black men, and how their immersion in the patriarchal tenets of Christianity detracts from their own struggles for gender equality. Index of Words: African-American Christianity African-American Literature African-American History African-American Women's Movement