The Negro's church,.

14

The Negro's Church

mateiy 72 per cent. of the total; and in 1920 the rural Negro
population was slightly less than 66 per cent. of the total
Negro population. It is estimated that between 1920 and
1925 the total Negro farm population of the South decreased
by 789,736. Naturally this mobility and shift of the population to urban centers will tend to decrease church-membership in the rural areas and to increase the urban membership
and the number of urban churches.
These economic, social, and psychological factors are responsible for the existence of the Negro church; they are
responsible for its rapid numerical growth; they also go far
to explain why, in proportion to population and actual churchmembership, Negroes have twice as many churches as whites.
Summary of the Findings of the Study
The early history of the Negro in America clarifies in part
the place of the church in his life. It indicates that the
early proscriptions placed upon him by his position as a slave,
together with the encouragement and freedom he enjoyed in
developing his church, and his own desire for self-expression
made the church of vital importance.
Prior to the emancipation of the slaves, social and psychological factors influenced the separation of both Negroes
and whites in public worship. Following the emancipation,
when the Negro could actually own and aggressively expand
his church, the economic factor was added. Therefore, since
about 1865 these economic, social, and psychological factors
have permeated the structure of the Negro church. Specifically, churches originated from about five causes, namely, a
growing racial consciousness, the initiative of individuals and
groups, splits, migration of Negroes, and missions of other
churches. While church origins due to individual initiative
and missions of other churches are scattered throughout the
history of the Negro church other types of origin are charactertistic of certain epochs in the history of the country. Thus