Research On Religion » African American churches http://www.researchonreligion.org A weekly podcast exploring academic research on religion and featuring top scholars in history, sociology, political science, economics and religious studies. Sun, 16 Sep 2018 08:00:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.39 Paul Froese on America’s Four Gods http://www.researchonreligion.org/protestantism/paul-froese-on-americas-four-gods http://www.researchonreligion.org/protestantism/paul-froese-on-americas-four-gods#comments Mon, 27 Dec 2010 09:00:38 +0000 http://www.researchonreligion.org/?p=572 Prof. Paul Froese — associate professor of sociology at Baylor University and research fellow at the Institute for Studies of Religion — discusses his critically-acclaimed book America’s Four Gods (co-authored with Chris Bader).  Unlike many surveys of religion that simply ask if a person believes in God, these authors examine how different people conceptualize God and find four relatively distinct images that Americans have of God based upon two important dimensions — the level of engagment that people think God has with this world, and the extent they think God is judgmental of humanity.  We cover the four principal images of God, including: Authoritative God (engaged and judgmental); Benevolent God (engaged, but less judgmental); Critical God (not engaged, but judgmental); and Distant God (not engaged and not judgmental).  Paul details the socio-demographic and denominational characteristics associated with each of the four conceptualizations of God and discusses how different regions of the United States tend to favor different visions of God.  We further talk about how these foundational images affect our beliefs in different areas of life including cultural issues such as abortion and adultery, the relationship between science and faith, support for social welfare policies, and how people view natural disasters and war.  Your host took the authors’ online survey and reveals what those questions said about his image of God.  Recorded: December 15, 2010.

RELATED LINKS

Prof. Paul Froese’s website at Baylor University.

The America’s Four Gods website (including the God test and Images of God).

America’s Four Gods: What We Say about God & What that Says about Us by Paul Froese and Chris Bader.

The Plot to Kill God: Findings from the Soviet Experiment in Secularization by Paul Froese.

RELATED PODCASTS

James Wellman on Evangelical versus Liberal Christians.

Jay Hein on the Faith-Based and Community Iniative.

Chris Bader on Ghosts, UFOs, and the Paranormal.

]]> http://www.researchonreligion.org/protestantism/paul-froese-on-americas-four-gods/feed 1 Merisa Davis on Bill Cosby, Religion, and African American Churches http://www.researchonreligion.org/practioneers/merisa-davis-on-bill-cosby-and-african-american-churches http://www.researchonreligion.org/practioneers/merisa-davis-on-bill-cosby-and-african-american-churches#comments Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:00:25 +0000 http://www.researchonreligion.org/?p=556 Merisa Parson Davis joins Tony to discuss her new book Bill Cosby Is Right: But What Should the Church Be Doing About It?  Mrs. Davis is a former news reporter for WVIR-TV, an NBC affiliate in Charlottesville, VA and holds a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and Master’s degree in Theological Studies at Liberty University, where she is currently in assisting in the creation of a Black Worship Studies Program set to begin in winter 2011.  Our conversation focuses on Dr. Bill Cosby’s famous “Pound Cake Speech” that generated a great deal of discussion since 2004.  Given on the 50th anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision that helped to provide equal access to public schooling for African Americans, Bill Cosby challenged the Black community in general and Christian churches in particular to address some of the problems facing inner city youth, including high dropout rates in schools, unacceptable levels of incarceration for young Black men, and a general deterioration of family life.  Dr. Cosby’s remarks generated a great deal of criticism, prompting Merisa — Bill Cosby’s cousin — to write a book defending his comments, showing how Black churches have been involved in some of the solutions, and challenging all Christians to work harder in addressing these social ills.  We primarily discuss the problem of high dropout rates among African American students, focusing on how various programs such as Pastor Tony Evans’s Project Turn-Around have helped deal with this problem.  Our conversation also covers the issue of high incarceration rates among young Black men and how prison ministries have helped to turn lives around, while noting much more needs to be done.  Mrs. Davis weaves in a number of personal stories illustrating her argument for the need for greater action on the part of churches.  We finish with a few thoughts on what she is doing at Liberty University, assisting in the creation of an African American Worship Studies Program at Liberty University and why such a program is important.  Recorded: November 30, 2010.

RELATED LINKS

Merisa Davis’s website (where you can order autographed copies of the book)

Bill Cosby Is Right: But What Should the Church Be Doing About It? by Merisa Parson Davis.

Project Turn-Around (Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, Pastor Tony Evans).

Pastor Charles Blake at West Angeles Church of God in Christ.

Liberty University.  (Link for the African American Worship Program coming soon.  Article mentioning that program is here.)

(Minor correction:  Early in the podcast, Tony reveals that three of his favorite shows growing up were Gilligan’s Island, Scooby Doo and The Cosby Show.  The Cosby Show did not air until the 1980s.  Although Tony did watch and enjoy The Cosby Show, he meant to say Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, a cartoon that aired from the early 1970s to the early 1980s, and one in which he had a devoted loyalty to.)

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