In addition to preparing leaders for Black and multiracial churches, Candler’s Black Church Studies Program educates the entire Candler community about the origins, development and contemporary diversity of the Black church tradition.
The program also explores religious traditions among peoples of African descent across Africa and the diaspora. The program seeks to integrate Black church studies into foundational courses at Candler and to expand and deepen Black church studies courses. The program also seeks to respond to the need for literature in Black religion, in particular the need for primary field research on Black congregational life.
The Black Church Studies Program also sponsors chapel worship, orientation and support events, as well as an annual series of lectures on Black religious life that includes the Howard Thurman Lecture, the Anna Julia Cooper Lecture, and the Annual Sankofa Lecture.
For more information on the program, email The Rev. Dr. Nichole R. Phillips, Associate Professor in the Practice of Sociology of Religion and Culture; and Director of Black Church Studies.
Opportunities
Scholarship
Candler has established a scholarship endowment in honor of three of the school’s first African American faculty—Noel Erskine, Luther Smith and Romney Moseley—to provide students of the Black Church Studies program with scholarships and stipends to support their theological education. For more information, contact the office of Admissions & Financial Aid.
Web Resources
Institute of African Studies, Emory University
Sub-Saharan African Art, Carlos Museum, Emory University
Learn about African artistic expression in its various forms, functions and cultures of origin. A majority of the objects come from West Africa, with an emphasis on Nigeria, Benin (formerly Dahomey), and the Cameroon Grassfields, but also includes art from the Equatorial Central region of the continent, located mainly in the modern state of Zaire.
Black Church Studies Faculty
For more information on Black Church Studies, email Dr. Nichole Phillips.
EMAIL: nichole.r.phillips@emory.edu
Learn more about our faculty
The Rev. Dr. Nichole R. Phillips
Associate Professor in the Practice of Sociology of Religion and Culture; Director of Black Church Studies
Dr. W. James Abbington
Associate Professor of Church Music and Worship
Dr. Musa Dube
William Ragsdale Cannon Distinguished Professor of New Testament
The Rev. Dr. Gregory C. Ellison II
Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling
The Rev. Dr. Robert M. Franklin, Jr.
James T. and Berta R. Laney Professor in Moral Leadership
The Rev. Dr. Teresa L. Fry Brown
Bandy Professor of Preaching
Dr. Jill B. Hamilton
Associate Professor in the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Affiliate Faculty at Candler
Dr. Jehu J. Hanciles
D.W. and Ruth Brooks Professor of World Christianity
Dr. Joel B. Kemp
Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible
The Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Y. Lartey
Charles Howard Candler Professor of Pastoral Theology and Spiritual Care
The Rev. Dr. Kevin Murriel
Assistant Professor in the Practice of Practical Theology and Black Methodist Seminarians Program Director
The Rev. Dr. Damon Williams
Assistant Professor in the Practice of Practical Ministry; Co-Director of the Baptist Studies Program
The Rev. Dr. Khalia Williams
Associate Dean of Worship and Music; Associate Professor in the Practice of Worship; Co-Director of the Baptist Studies Program
FAQ
A critical component of a student’s theological preparation is contextual. Not only must today’s student be prepared for leadership in the church and in the academy, but also on street corners, classrooms, community centers, holding cells, crackhouses and AIDS clinics. The task of Black Church Studies is to bear witness to the disinherited and to help prepare a leadership of hope.
Yes. There has never been a time in the history of this country when leadership from the African Diaspora has not significantly and instructively spoken to the human condition transcending the arbitrary lines of race. What is true for the Black faithful is no less true for others—for all of our political and social struggles are rooted and grounded in the crucible of the spirit.
No. Students who desire to earn a certificate in Black Church Studies do so in conjunction with the Master of Divinity (MDiv), Master of Theological Studies (MTS), or Master of Theology (ThM) degree. The certificate process provides students with an opportunity to expand their knowledge of Black Church traditions and scholarship.