The Church Enslaved: A Spirituality for Racial Reconciliation (Prisms)

Two of the most vocal activists on racial issues inthe church seek nothing less than a conversion ofAmerican Christianity. They directly challenge the churchesto resume leadership in overcoming and redressing America'slegacy of racial segregation.

Campolo and Battle expose the realities of racial division inthe churches and then lift up a vision of a church withoutracism. To achieve reconciliation within and among thedenominations, they argue, both the black and the whitechurch need to acknowledge and overcome substantialproblems in their traditions.

The authors provide a blueprint for how racially reconciledchurches can encourage activism in the cities, churchinvolvement in politics, and responsible use of the Bible,ultimately helping to transform American society itself.

Michael Battle is Assistant Professor of Spirituality and Black Church Studies at Duke Divinity School and Rector of St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Raleigh, North Carolina. He is the author of The Wisdom of Desmond Tutu (1999).

Tony Campolo is professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University. For forty years, he led the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, an organization that he founded to create and support programs serving needy communities. More recently, Campolo has provided leadership for Red Letter Christians as well as for the Campolo Center for Ministry. He has written more than thirty-five books. Campolo and his wife, Peggy, live near Philadelphia and have two children and four grandchildren.