The Seminole Baptist Churches of Oklahoma: Maintaining a Traditional Community Contributor(s): Schultz, Jack M. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0806139803 ISBN-13: 9780806139807 Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press OUR PRICE: $24.70 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: May 1999 Annotation: A contemporary ethnography of the role of religion in an American Indian society |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Ethnic Studies - Native American Studies - Religion | Christianity - History - History | United States - State & Local - General |
Dewey: 306.686 |
Series: Civilization of the American Indian (Paperback) |
Physical Information: 0.8" H x 5.4" W x 8.3" (0.80 lbs) 276 pages |
Themes: - Ethnic Orientation - Native American - Religious Orientation - Christian - Cultural Region - Heartland - Cultural Region - Southwest U.S. - Geographic Orientation - Oklahoma - Cultural Region - Mid-South - Cultural Region - South |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher 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 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. |
Contributor Bio(s): Schultz, Jack M.: - Jack M. Schultz is Professor of Anthropology at Con cordial University, Irvine, California. |