Religious Education in the African American Tradition

Book Review: Religious Education in the African American Tradition
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Book Review: Religious Education in the African American Tradition Summary Kenneth Hill explores the historical, theological, and educational issues in African American Christian Religious Education (AACRE). The book's first part traces the origin of AACRE, specifically establishing that the first religious instructions provided to Africans were during the slave trade and were used to justify slavery. However, this religious education was an extension of the White Christian education. He also explains that AACRE developed as an academic discipline due to political demand. It helped African Americans understand Christian education in an African American context by exploring its theological and educational aspects. He also acknowledges that the roots of the Black religion can be traced back to Africa (14).    The second part of the book builds on the historical perspectives of AACRE. Here, Hill explores Black theology and identifies the Scripture, Black culture, and Black experiences as a source of insight into Black theological voices and dialogue. In the book's third part, Hill explores how to educate African American Christians and the teaching roles of church leaders in this community. By exploring African American religious history, Hill encourages his readers to look deeper into the theological and historical experiences that have shaped AACRE and overall African American Christianity. Evaluation of Ideas The book shares some significant ideas that encourage dialogue and an understanding of AACRE, especially in relation to how it has evolved and been taught throughout different generations. One of the ideas I found quite insightful is that one of the purposes of Christian education is to revise and correct the omissions made by White Christian Education. This idea was quite refreshing because it encourages Christians and Christian educators to research and find out the truth about Christianity and Christian education within the Black community and in other communities. It also allows them to share their perspective and understanding of what Christianity meant to the Black community, not through White Christians' lenses but through Black Christians' lenses. Instead of advancing the same narrative, Christian education can facilitate revisions, where necessary, to ensure that teaching and learning occur in a way that speaks the truth about the experiences of Black Christians. As Hill notes, Christian education should “help people remember who they are…” What better way to do so than to correct any omissions made in the past that could have contributed to people forgetting about their heritage? Also, the revisions through Christian education can help people understand how religion and religious experiences have shaped their beliefs and sense of identity. For instance, the religious experiences of Black people during and after slavery have shaped how they see themselves today and what Christianity means to them. I also felt strongly about Hill’s idea on the role of pastors as Christian educators. This idea extends the ro...