Historically Black Protestant Churches
Black protestant churches are those that minister to predominantly African American congregations in the United States. Early black churches were founded by free blacks in the 18th century. Historically black churches have long been the centers of communities, serving numerous important social functions.
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While the religious-meaning system and social organization of these denominations are similar to those found in white evangelical denominations, African American churches often emphasize different aspects of Christian doctrine, particularly the importance of freedom and the quest for justice. Moreover, various black churches opt to be more liberal on economic attitudes and conservative on social issues.
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The states with the highest population of black protestants are the District of Columbia, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee (collectively have 1,302,149 adherents (as of 2020).
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Black Protestant congregations (generally but obviously not all) tend to be liberal on economic attitudes and conservative on social issues.
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The E.M. White Library houses a robust collection that centers around Black Churches and theology, and supports the LPTS Black Church Studies program (https://lpts.edu/academics/bcs). See our BCS Libguide, https://lpts.libguides.com/BCS
The seven larger Black Protestant denominations are (as listed by ARDA):
For more information regarding historically black protestant congregations see below:
LPTS Black Church Studies LibGuide
Photo courtesy of https://www.umc.org/en/who-we-are/our-people/african-people
