Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 4-2016 Seventh-Day Adventists and ‘Race’ Relations in the U.S.: The Case of Black-White Structural Segregation Cleran Hollancid Western Michigan University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, and the Sociology of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Hollancid, Cleran, "Seventh-Day Adventists and ‘Race’ Relations in the U.S.: The Case of Black-White Structural Segregation" (2016). Dissertations. 1419. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/1419 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS AND ‘RACE’ RELATIONS IN THE U.S.: THE CASE OF BLACK-WHITE STRUCTURAL SEGREGATION by Cleran Hollancid A dissertation submitted to the Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Sociology Western Michigan University April 2016 Doctoral Committee: Timothy Ready, Ph.D., Chair Douglas Davidson, Ph.D. Brian C. Wilson, Ph.D. Lewis Walker, Ph.D. SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS AND ‘RACE’ RELATIONS IN THE U.S.: THE CASE OF BLACK-WHITE STRUCTURAL SEGREGATION Cleran Hollancid, Ph.D. Western Michigan University, 2016 A worldwide Christian denomination of some eighteen million in global membership, and with a presence in over 200 countries and territories (i.e., in just about every country on the globe), the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church is one with a distinctive arrangement in the U.S., insofar as it concerns its racial segregation practice. The SDA Church professes and preaches unity in the pulpit, as in all members being equal and one in the faith, yet the actual practice says otherwise. Such is the case since it is officially segregated along black-white lines. The segregation arrangement, essentially a black-white schism, falls within the overall denominational structure, at the two bottom levels of the general church structure (i.e., from the local church to the local conference). This is unlike other denominations such as Baptists and Methodists, for instance, which have experienced total racial divisions in their general membership, and have totally separate black and white church organizational structures. Thus, gaining deeper insight into this racialized structure and unique SDA arrangement lies at the heart of the metanarrative driving this social research. This is a qualitative study with a focus on the Detroit area which, in itself, offers a picture of the broader SDA segregated pattern in America. In pursuing this study the socio-historical backdrop was considered, in order to better examine the societal dynamics and the meanings involved in SDA (black-white) racial segregation. To accomplish this, 36 semi-structured in- depth interviews were carried out, seeking members and pastors’ perspectives on the racially segregated arrangement, from separate black and white SDA churches. Theoretical insight formed an integral part of this study, particularly cultural toolkit theory and the homophily principle. The findings show that these theoretical lenses, along with other social dynamics and a history of racial prejudice, discrimination, and tensions in the SDA Church, help explain the persistent segregation in the denomination, accentuated by its attendant inequality. This study and its findings should: (a) prove useful to American SDA leaders, and (b) be of at least informative value to church members, besides its contribution to the overall academic work on ‘race,’ religion, and society. © 2016 Cleran Hollancid TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………….……........... 1 Statement of the Problem …………………………………………………………..... 1 Significance of the Study .……....................................................……………..…….. 2 The Origins of Seventh-day Adventism ….………………….………………....…… 4 Some Background: A Look at the Intersection of Race Relations, SDA Theology and Beliefs ………………………….….………………………………………….… 8 Remnant Theology and Gift of Prophecy …………….……….…….……… 12 A Note on Racial Tension, Adventism, and Evangelicalism ….………….… 13 Black SDAs and Remnant Theology ……………………………………….. 15 Summary ……………………………………….…………………………………… 23 CHAPTER TWO OVERVIEW OF RACE RELATIONS IN SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM …………....... 26 Section A Church Organization and Structure …………………………..………….................. 26 Section B Race Relations Trajectory, in Socio-historical Context, in the SDA Church – Overture ………………….………………………………........................................... 31 Timeline and Events: Race and the SDA Church .…………....................................... 33 c. 1831 – 1863 …….….…….…………………..…..…................................... 33 A Note on Adventist Attitude Toward Abolitionism: mid-1850s – mid-1860s …..................................................................................................... 35 Charles M. Kinney Sentiments and Work: c. 1889, and Race Relations in the 1890s ……………………………………………………………………. 37 ii Table of Contents – Continued James Edson White: 1890s to Turn of the Twentieth Century ……………… 39 Lewis C. Sheafe: End of the Nineteenth Century and Beginning of the Twentieth Century ……………………………………………....................... 40 James K. Humphrey, Anti-black Discrimination, Disenfranchisement, and the SDA Church, 1901-1930 ............................................................................ 44 Negro Department Set Up – Beginning 1909 …….………………………..... 55 General Conference Committee on Question of Colored (Regional) Conferences …………....................................................................................... 56 Oakwood College Protests, Civil Rights, and the SDA Church, 1910s – 1960s ……………………………………………………………………….. 57 The Lucy Byard Story – 1943 ….……………………….………….…......... 61 The Formation of Regional Conferences – 1940s ……….............................. 63 Quest for Black SDA Union Conferences – Late 1960s to 1970s, and Beyond …………………………………………………….…………...….. 66 Section C Ellen White’s Take ………………………………………………………………… 72 Ellen White on Interracial Marriage …………………..…………………………… 83 Summary ...………………………….………………………………….………...... 92 CHAPTER THREE LITERATURE REVIEW: SOCIAL CONSIDERATIONS OF RACE AND RELIGION IN AMERICA .……….….………………………………………………………………… 94 Socio-historical Background ….….….…….…….………………………………… 98 A Concise Parallel Outlook ………………….……………………………………. 108 On Integration and the Pushback ….………………………………………………. 111 Summary ……….…………………………………….……...………….…............. 117 iii Table of Contents – Continued CHAPTER FOUR THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND METHODOLOGY …..…….…………....... 120 Section A Theoretical Considerations ……………………………………………………..…. 120 Section B Methodology (Data Collection) …….……………………….................................... 129 Rationale …..................................................................................................... 132 Interviewee Selection and Church Breakdown for Interviews ….….…....... 136 CHAPTER FIVE FIELDWORK INSIGHT: ANALYSIS OF INTERVIEWS …..…….……………………. 138 Demographic View ......….….…………………..……….………............................ 140 General Observations ………………….……………………………………….…. 142 Thematic Discussion ……………..…………………….…………………………. 148 Cross-racial Church Attendance ……….……………………….…….. ..... 149 Neighborhood and Church Attendance ....….…..……................................. 150 On Cross-racial Local Church Leadership ………….…….….................... 152 Attendance at Mixed-group Social Functions ……………………………. 156 Worship and Preaching Style …………….………………………………. 158 On Worship Style and Musical Instruments ……..…...................... 158 Note on Preaching Style, and Literary Analysis ………………….. 161 On Racial/Ethnic Experiences ……………………………………………. 166 Racial Background of Peers .………………………………………............ 169 iv Table of Contents – Continued Segregation Sentiments and Interracial Black-White Dating and Marriage ……….. 172 Segregation Sentiments and Effects of Racialization in the Church .…….… 172 On Interracial Black-White Dating and Marriage in the SDA Church …….. 177 Concern for Offspring from Black-White Interracial Marriage ……….…… 181 Table: Participants Expressing Concern about Children of Interracial Couples ………………………………………….………………………….. 183 Summary of Table …….……………………………………...…………….. 183 Respondents’ Perspectives on Intermarriage of Their Children ……............. 185 Overall Experience in the SDA Church …………………………………….……… 187 Understandings of the Cause(s) for the Church Segregation, along with Opinions on Whether or Not Church Leadership Should Have Created a Segregation Policy ….. 189 Comparative Look at Perspectives on the Ongoing Official Segregation at the Local Conference and Local Church Levels .……………………….…………………….. 196 White Males ………..….....……….….….………………….…..................... 196 White Females ….….…….……………………..…………………………... 198 Black Males ………….…………………………….…………....................... 200 Black Females …………………….……………………................................. 204 White Pastors ………….…….………..…………………………………….. 208 Black Pastors …………………………………..……….…………................ 211 CHAPTER SIX CONCLUSION: FINDINGS AND FUTURE DIRECTION ……………...……….……… 217 Summary Remarks …….…………………………………………………………… 217 Findings ……….………………………..………………………..….……..….……