Moreover, current research has shown that what separates today's inner-city communities from the disadvantaged neighborhoods of the past is their limited connection with upwardly mobile individuals and mainstream institutions (Wilson 1987; Wilson and Wacquant 1989). Therefore, while research on the political consequences of church attendance assumes that all African Americans have an equal opportunity to attend church and reap the political benefits of such environments, mounting evidence on the undermining and deleterious influences of inner-city environments suggests that this is not the case (Wilson 1987; Wilson and Wacquant 1989).

As An Essential Ingredient in the Development of African-American Theatre and Drama

The African-American church influences also the two essential modes operative in the creative process: word and gesture; the speech of the imagined character and the physical movements of the imagined character, respectively. In the performance of a play, word and gesture become text and performance. For example, the influence of the African-American church is clearly evident in James Baldwin's The Amen Corner, a play wherein a woman preacher, Sister Margaret, struggles to maintain her leadership role in the church and meet successfully with her past when it haunts her as her estranged husband reappears. Baldwin, who was himself a preacher at one point, was obviously influenced by the dynamic of the Black church as he wrote. So the church affects the creative process of the Black playwright in ways that are quite obvious. A look at the church's centricity in the culture may help to reveal a larger influence of the church on African-American theater and drama. (Du Bois 1926)

In the performance of its religious services, the African-American church celebrates the faith of Black people and sustains the traditions of the culture by giving voice to faith through the performance of certain cultural roles that are imbued with "style" and which are reflected in the everyday, secular lives of African-Americans. As an element of performance, style is essential in manifesting cultural difference; it is the singular, Black way of being that clearly distinguishes African-American religiosity from White religiosity.

How is the church theatrical? In what ways does the church function as a performance ritual?

There are five main elements to most church services: preaching, singing, praying, testifying, and offering. None occurs in isolation; since the performance of any one element may be supplemented by another as the congregation sees fit to join in with one of the other elements as the main one is being performed. What follows is a brief discussion of the functioning of these elements, performed in the church with sincerity and earnestness.

Preaching. As I mentioned above, the preacher is the focal point of the theatrical and dramatic functioning of the church. He or she is the leader of the church. Each preacher has an individualized style which is drawn from the larger paradigm of performance. Chanting, hollering, dancing, foot-stomping, and singing, along with rhyme, metaphor, analogy, and antiphony, are all parts of this larger paradigm from which a preacher draws his or her style. The effectiveness of this style is indicated by the extent to which the preacher enlivens what George Bass has called the moment-by-moment dynamic. (Edmonds 1949)

Singing. In the Black church, music also arouses and sustains the participants. And just as preaching has a more spontaneous and emotional manifestation in churches closer to the center of the culture, singing too can be more or less lively. A major difference between the A.M.E. and the Baptist churches, for example, is that A.M.E. churches incorporate hymns that are not part of the cultural heritage of Black religious music, such as classical ensemble pieces. They may also avoid spirituals. Singing is done by both the choirs and the congregation in Black churches, and in many churches an individual in the congregation may break forth with a song of his or her own, leading the rest of the church into it. Singing may also be included in testifying or praying. The singing incorporates body movements, including gestures. A whole choir may sway rhythmically in unison to a song, and a choir member may get happy and do a holy dance among the choir. (Davis 1985)
Praying. A person may be singled out for his or her ability to beseech the Lord. As with preaching, there is a larger paradigm from which individualized styles are drawn. Everyone in the church joins in when someone comes before the congregation to pray. A good praying person, in imploring the Lord to touch his or her heart, will touch everyone's concerns. Praying is somewhat more sedate than the other elements, but an emotional prayer will incite call and response. . (Edmonds 1949)

Testifying. There are many performance modes that fall under this category. A literal example occurs when, in some Baptist churches, members are asked to stand up and say what the Lord has done for them.

Offering. Embodying the principle of sacrifice, offerings are taken up in a number of prescribed ways. In some churches, the entire congregation gets up and marches around to the offering table. In other churches, the ushers may do a staccato walk up the aisle to the altar to get the plates. In most instances, the offering is taken to the accompaniment of music from one of the choirs. Still another variation consists of the tithers coming forward. But in all instances, the ushers and other participants are performing their roles with sincerity, and it is important to remember that the five elements of performance overlap and work in unison. (Sobel 1988)