African American Spirituality and Religiosity

• In Event: Black Religious and Theological Thought

Abstract

Spirituality and religiosity play central roles in the shaping of African culture and are both means of maintaining balance and achieving an optimal psychological well-being in people of African descent. Despite the frequent use of the concepts as synonymous, this paper will recognize spirituality and religiously as separate entities that are interrelated. A key aspect of the paper is the presence of the idiocentric and allocentric worldviews, which can be equated with individualism and collectivism. In basic terms, spirituality will be understood as an internal expression, and religiosity as an external expression. Data shows that religiosity and spirituality permeate African American culture and are a means of developing positive coping strategies. And thus spirituality and religiosity can be used as key tools for liberating African American people.

Author

• Samantha Horton, SUNY Albany