Trauma in the People, Trauma in the Temple

• In Event: Africana Research in Psychology and Mental Health Issues

Abstract

In the Black community, church/religious trauma was classified as “church” hurt. “Church” hurt are the traumatic events, altercations, and/or rhetoric that have occurred on church property and/or by self-proclaimed Christians (more so faith leaders). What made these engagements traumatic were two-fold, one, the church in the Black community is considered a space of healing and deliverance from physical, spiritual, and mental anguish. Two, the church is the space to receive and give hope and love (what the church describes as the love of Christ), while institutions and government agencies are campaigning a marginalization and alienation movement against Black parishioners. However, the healing, deliverance, hope, and love offered in the Black church were requiring the laity to adhere to the church’s doctrine and ideology which were laced with contradictions. Ironically, the Black church was instrumental in tearing down the psychological and theological framework and faith of its Parishioners. Rather than being a place of relief, safety, and sanctuary, the Black church became a vehicle to inflect trauma the people were attempting to escape. This paper takes a close examination of the Black church role in the trauma it creates and sustains in its traditions and practices.

Author

• Solomon Cochren, University of Memphis