Elevating the race : Theophilus G. Steward, Black theology, and the making of an African American civil society, 1865-1924 / Albert G. Miller.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Miller, Albert George, 1951-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Steward, T. G. (Theophilus Gould), 1843-1924.

Steward, T. G.

Wilberforce University.

African Methodist Episcopal Church.

African Americans--Biography.

African Americans.

African American political activists--Biography.

African American political activists.

African American theologians--Biography.

African American theologians.

African Methodist Episcopal Church--Clergy--Biography.

Wilberforce University--Presidents--Biography.

African Americans--Civil rights--History.

African Americans--Civil rights.

History.

African Americans--Social conditions--To 1964.

African Americans--Social conditions.

Black theology--History.

Black theology.

Civil society--United States--History.

Civil society.

Presidents.

Clergy.

United States.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xxiv, 211 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Knoxville : University of Tennessee Press, [2003]

Summary:

As a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, an army chaplain, a college professor, and a prolific writer, Theophilus Gould Steward was one of America's leading black intellectuals during the half-century following Emancipation. Not merely a theologian deeply committed to challenging his church's outlook, he also epitomized postbellum efforts to create an African American civil society through religious, educational, and social institutions integral to citizenship. Steward actively constructed a theological discourse that challenged both black and white religious and secular institutions, yet his tenacious pursuit of high standards often led him into conflict with the very community he served. A. G. Miller takes a new look at this key figure in African American history to establish Steward's place among the most influential thinkers and activists of the late nineteenth century. Augmenting what is already known about Steward's life with a thoughtful combination of intellectual and social history, Miller presents Steward's ideas within the context of the social, political, economic, and religious trends of his day.

Miller examines Steward's accomplishments and writings -- including his unpublished manuscripts and his overlooked Victorian novel -- to assess the ideas that he left to posterity and to consider how they shaped his times. The book devotes individual chapters to the key themes that dominated Steward's life: African American education, reconciling theology with modern science, the intersection of rational theology and moral virtues, the contradictions of race, the role of women in African American civil society, and Steward's views on the military and imperialism. With great insight and clarity, Miller discloses in a new and original way the rich life and thought of this extraordinary man. His study is both a groundbreaking analysis of Steward's legacy and an important contribution to the history of American religious thought.

Contents:

2. The Struggle for an African American Civil Society: The AME Church, Education, and Social Life 10

3. Evangelical Theology: Striving for a Rational Religious Orthodoxy 44

4. Civilization, America, and Race 70

5. Rethinking Liberal Religion: A Charleston Love Story 86

6. Steward, Women, and Civil Society 98

7. Race, Imperialism, and the Military: A View from an Army Chaplain 119.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-206) and index.

ISBN:

1572332212

OCLC:

52626976