The Defects of the Negro Church The American Negro Academy. Occasional Papers No. 10

Orishatukeh Faduma's The Defects of the Negro Church offers a frank, reform-minded appraisal of Black religious life from the pages of the American Negro Academy's Occasional Papers (No. 10, 1904). Blending social criticism and religious study, Faduma identifies the leading shortcomings he observed in African American churches at the turn of the century—without claiming omniscience—and insists on a diagnostic, hopeful approach aimed at healing and improvement. Set against the historical backdrop of post-Reconstruction America and the early struggle for Black institutional advancement, the essay argues that many church maladies arise from environment rather than race, and that similar faults appear in congregations of other communities though often in different degrees. Faduma’s measured tone, surgical metaphors, and insistence on moral leadership, education, organization, and social responsibility make this a thoughtful intervention in debates over the church’s social role. An essential nonfiction listen for students of African American history, religious studies, and social reform, this short yet incisive work will appeal to anyone interested in historical critiques of faith institutions and the enduring quest for constructive change in community life.