Race, Religion, and the Continuing American Dilemma

by C. Eric Lincoln

Book Overview

Since the early days of the republic, Americans' exuberant, unchastened idealism, committed to the notion of a perfect society in the New World, has dashed with the reality of ugly American behavior: racist and other social inequities have been rife in American society, and religious groups have all too often accommodated themselves to these injustices. In 1986, the great scholar C. Eric Lincoln reevaluated what Gunnar Myrdal had called the American...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0809001632
• ISBN13: 9780809001637
• Release Date: February 1986
• Publisher: Hill & Wang
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A Look at American Morality

"Responsibility without power is slavery. Power without responsibility is tyranny".Nestled within the opening pages of C.Eric Lincoln's book, the above quote let's you know you should strap yourself in for a soul-searching ride. Lincoln covers a lot of ground in this book - he looks at the structure of power in America from the 1600's to the present, the formation of the Black church as a cultural necessity, which was formed by borrowing the only religion offered (though incompletely and bastardized as it was) to Blackamericans (as he refers to them), and how Christianity has become more concerned with preserving Western culture than promoting values of the faith. He also puts forth an admirable argument for preserving affirmative action, and how the struggles of Blackamericans are different from any other minority or ethnic group, and should be treated as such.Nevertheless,the reason for four stars and not five is that Lincoln seems to say the Black Christian church can't be held responsible for doing anything more in the struggle to change the present imbalance in America - that they are already morally superior to any other religious offering out there.Guess it's just my problem with Christianity in general...