Contemporary Black Church

Jason E. Shelton is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for African American Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington and the author of Blacks and Whites in Christian America: How Racial Discrimination Shapes Religious Convictions.

"The time has come to put down old stereotypes about the Black Church and understand it for what it is today. This book does exactly that, with the wow factors of careful analysis of contemporary trends and the astute interpretation of the changes by a leading voice in the field. This book is a game changer." - Michael O. Emerson, author of Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America"The Contemporary Black Church is an important book for anyone looking to learn how the freedom to worship and congregate can bring America together in unity and harmony today." - Dr. Opal Lee, Community Activist and the "Grandmother of Juneteenth""Jason E. Shelton has given us a thoughtful, comprehensive look at the myriad forces shaping the post-civil rights era Black Church in the United States. What many perceive on the ground, he tracks in these pages with scholarly insight and analysis. The Contemporary Black Church is a helpful guide to the contemporary religious scene unfolding in society today." - Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University"Jason Shelton has made a deep scholarly dive into the world of the Black church. He [draws] from his experience growing up in Black churches, in his familial home in Ohio and in Los Angeles... and searching as an adult for the right spiritual space for his family." - Adelle Banks (Religion News Service)"[Shelton] makes especially strong arguments in his discussion of assimilation and resistance to the dominant understandings of national identity." - CHOICE "The Contemporary Black Church provides a rich and important take on Black life in America in the twenty-first century and its prose will appeal to scholars and undergraduate students alike." - Journal of Contemporary Religion