Dr. Lewis Brogdon is the Executive Director of the Institute for Black Church Studies.
“Some may retort, “When did America ever have a soul?” This is a reasonable question given our troubling history of slavery and genocide. Today seems like the inevitable result of a path taken years ago, but if we go back to the text in Mark, the question ,“Did America ever have a soul” is wrong. Losing your soul is choosing a lesser path and losing the struggle to be your best self. When understood in this manner, America has always struggled with its soul. Movements in history like abolitionism, women’s suffrage, civil rights, and today’s Me Too and Black Lives Matter movements are evidence of a nation that is imperfect but struggling to be better. But today, we are losing ground in the struggle, and there is an embrace of the worst of ourselves that has gained a foothold in this nation.”
Dr. Lewis Brogdon recently wrote an article entitled, “Is the soul of America in danger? The conversation everyone needs to have in 2021” for Louisville’s Courier-Journal. An extended version of this article, complete with questions for personal reflection and group discussion, was posted on BSK’s Institute for Black Church Studies website. This extended article is entitled, “The Fight for the Soul of America.”
