ABSTRACT
Overview The Black Church and religion have played a unique role among black Americans, a role that was not necessary among most white Americans. The historical background of black Americans-and the crucial fact of slavery-led to a role for black churches and religion that has survived in large part up until the present. The combination of historical experiences and the continuing effects of those experiences today (e.g., lower income and education among black Americans) has led to differences between black Americans and white Americans in terms of religious views, political views, and the ways in which religious views and political views are connected to one another.
