ABSTRACT
The evangelical religion of the first part of the nineteenth century bred a spirit of cooperation that was expressed both in the revivals of the period and in the activities of the voluntary societies. The development of African American Christian religious life from informal communities to institutions moved decisively ahead one Sunday morning in November 1787. While worshiping at St. George's Methodist Church in Philadelphia, Absalom Jones, Richard Allen, and other black members of the congregation were forced by white church trustees from the front rows of the gallery and directed to seating farther back. Several black churches within the Protestant denominations were also organized during this period of time. The first African American Baptist congregation was gathered on the plantation of William Byrd II in Lunenberg, Virginia. The organization of black denominations and the gathering of black congregations was as much a political act as it was a religious movement.
