"Get the Learnin' but don't lose the Burnin'": TheSocio-Cultural and Religious Politics of Education in a BlackPentecostal College Público
Tucker, Anjulet (2009)
Abstract
"Get the Learnin' but don't lose the Burnin'": The Socio-Cultural and Religious Politics of Education in a Black Pentecostal College
By Anjulet Tucker B.A., Emory University, 2000 M.T.S., Harvard Divinity School, 2002 Advisor: Steven M. Tipton, Ph.D.
An Abstract of A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Emory University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Division of Religion Ethics and Society 2009
Abstract"Get the Learnin' but don't lose the Burnin'": The Socio-Cultural and Religious Politics of Education in a Black Pentecostal College
By Anjulet TuckerIn 1917 the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the oldest and largest black Pentecostal denomination in the United States, established Saints Literary and Industrial School (later renamed Saints Junior College) in rural Lexington, Mississippi. The school served as the denomination's main educational initiative for over fifty years and was responsible for educating some of COGIC's most well known leaders. Despite its regional reputation for academic excellence, the college closed in 1983.
Studies documenting the black church's support of educational institutions have ignored COGIC's engagement with education, choosing to focus instead on Black Baptist and Methodist denominations and their contributions. Seeking to disrupt common perceptions that black Pentecostals are anti-intellectual, this study argues that Saints provides an important glimpse into black Pentecostal intellectual culture. The study argues that early leaders and laypersons in the Church of God in Christ created a learning environment where academic, spiritual and moral development was paramount. Furthermore it suggests that the demise of Saints should not be attributed to an adoption of an anti-intellectual ethic but rather to a host of forces internal and external to the denomination.
Research methods include interviews with former students, teachers and administrators from Saints, interviews with COGIC leaders, analyses of denominational and other historical documents, and observation of COGIC National Conferences. The findings suggest the need for more complicated analyses of black Pentecostal groups' educational values. Additionally it strongly encourages scholars of religion and American education to challenge allegations of black Pentecostal anti-intellectualism.
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. MAPPING BLACK PENTECOSTAL EDUCATION NETWORKS 22
Racial Dimensions of Pentecostal Education 25
Early 20th century white Pentecostal schools 30
The Education of Black Pentecostal Clergy 36
Pentecostals' Encounters in Black Colleges 42
Schools of Their Own 45
African-American Churches and Schools in America
Before the 20th century 49
Survival of the Fittest 54
Black Boarding Schools in Mississippi 55
Conclusions 583. "WALK IN DIGNITY, TALK IN DIGNITY, LIVE IN DIGNITY" 60
Origins 61Financing Saints 64
Gendered Networks 68
Regimen 73 Academics 77Religious Life 79
Leisure 84Choosing Saints 85
Class 87 Diversity 90"Institutional Caring" 91
The Decline of Black Boarding Schools 96
Conclusions 994. CHARISMA AND CONTINUITY 102
Women's Leadership and Education in COGIC 102
Transfer of Power 115
"Bound for ASU" 118
"The Saints Shall Stand by God's Man" 124
The "Charismatic Tendency" in Black Churches 127
Conclusions 1315. ASSESSING THE ROLE OF SAINTS IN THE TRANSFORMATION
OF COGIC FROM "SECT" TO "CHURCH" 133
Church-Sect Theory as an Interpretative Lens 133
COGIC's Transformation 139
Saints' Contributions in Light of COGIC's sect-church 149
Transformation The Resurrection of Saints 1506. CONCLUSIONS 158
An Appraisal of the Saints Model 158
Directions for Further Research 161
Social Location 167
Future Direction of COGIC Educational Institutions 170
APPENDIX 173
Clarification of Methodology and Interview Design 174
Interview Questionnaire 177
Selected Timeline of Significant Events Impacting the Rise,
Development and Demise of Saints Industrial
and Literary School 181
WORKS CITED 186
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