Reviving the Spirit: A Generation of African Americans Goes Home to Church - Hardcover

African Americans are not only returning to the church in search of divine salvation; they are also returning to the only American institution they truly control, in the hope of reviving its role as a command center and strategic outpost for social change, economic reform, political activism, and urban renewal.

The historical role of the church during slavery and the civil rights movement has always kept this institution at the center of the African American community, even when attendance has been sparse. The current resurgence of African Americans' interest and participation in the nation's 65,000 black churches is indeed a trend worth noting. The social and political changes that affect middle-class blacks have refocused the church as a power base and an outpost. Lawrence interviews members of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore, one of the oldest and largest churches in the country, and discovers that there are several reasons for their return to the church: making a pro-black statement, reviving the church as an instrument for change, developing an institution still controlled by blacks, and seeking solace from a hostile world. Lawrence reveals much about the cultural and spiritual lives of middle-class blacks today by translating her personal experiences and conversations into a tell-all about her generation. Lillian Lewis