The Seminole Baptist Churches of Oklahoma: Maintaining a Traditional Community
by Jack M. Schultz
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Description
In this contemporary ethnography, Jack M. Schultz examines the role of religion in one American Indian society: the Seminole Baptists of Oklahoma. Basing his study on four years of fieldwork, Schultz shows how the Seminole Baptist church system helps maintain a traditional community. Observers often assume that Americans Indians identifying themselves as Christian have assimilated into the larger Anglo world. As Schultz explains, however, the Oklahoma Seminole Baptists, rather than passively show more adopting existing non-Native structures, have actively adapted them to accommodate their community needs. The people Schultz encountered are Baptist. They gather several times weekly in steepled churches for prayers, hymn singing, and sermons based on biblical texts. But they also are Seminole, conducting services primarily in the Mvskoke language and practicing Native customs, such as fasting in the woods and constructing grave houses to shelter the spirit as it returns to visit the body. Schultz provides a context for his study by tracing the history of the Seminoles to the present day. He then discusses Semnole Baptist beliefs and practices, leadership roles, and the church?s organizational structure, illustrating his observations with a detailed account of the social life pf a single congregation. show lessTags
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1 Work 12 Members
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
The Civilization of the American Indian Series (volume 233)
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Seminole Baptist Churches of Oklahoma: Maintaining a Traditional Community
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Anthropology, Religion & Spirituality, History, Art & Design
- DDC/MDS
- 306.6 — Society, government, & culture Social sciences, sociology & anthropology Social Behavior - Dating, Marriage, Divorce Religious institutions
- LCC
- E99 .S28 .S37 — History of the United States America Indians of North America Indian tribes and cultures
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 12
- Popularity
- 1,882,724
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
