Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

Reality is breaking in on my work in an incredibly powerful way. I am writing about racism and sexism in a book about counseling Pentecostal Christians, which I started early in the Covid Spring of 2020. Then along came the horrible videos of violence against Black Americans.  Then, as I am searching for examples of the reality of the lived experience of Black Christians, I read an interview with Dr. Estrelda Y. Alexander that captured so much of the same issues I am trying to convey to young counselors. This post tells about what I learned from Dr. Alexander. Here's the context. Counselors are supposed to be aware of, and knowledgeable about, the culture of their clients. So, I write about Pentecostal cultures. And I find out Alexander shares similar comments with her interviewer. I also want counselors to be aware that race matters and there is a history of racism in Pentecostal churches. Alexander says that too and has a book on the subject! Fortunately, I had ment...

The first memorial service honoring George Floyd was held June 4, 2020 at North Central University (NCU), A Pentecostal Christian university in Minneapolis, Minnesota ( StarTribune) . Mr. Floyd was brutally murdered May 25, 2020 when a police officer knelt on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds until he died.   Ten years ago, Dr. Renea Brathwaite, a recent Dean for Professional Studies at NCU, was a PhD candidate. He wrote an essay about racial reconciliation from “An Afro-Pentecostal Perspective.”   I reread his essay and find it more current than ever.  In the essay,  Brathwaite tells the story of the interracial revival in the early years of American Pentecostalism—notably the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles. Early on, there was excitement over the crossing of the “color line.” Unfortunately, in the spirit of the times, Blacks and Whites went their separate ways and established congregations and eventually denominations or fellowships along ...

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist minister as were his father and grandfather. He was born 15 January, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. According to biography.com , Martin Luther King Jr. was influenced by theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr. Following the arrest of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. met with other leaders to plan a bus boycott. In 1959, Martin Luther King Jr. visited Gandhi’s birthplace in India.  The experience influenced his focus on nonviolent activism. AMERICAN CHURCHES STILL LACK DIVERSITY American religion is as clear as black and white. For centuries, religious groups were divided by color. As recently as 1998, nearly 50% of U.S. congregations were primarily made up of one racial group. In 2013, LifeWay Research conducted a phone survey of Protestant Pastors between September 4-19. Most (86 percent) say their congregation is predominately one racial or ethnic group. American Religion and Prejudice Against African Americans Deborah Hal...