Instituting Caste in the Church of God: Unity through Racial Separation in the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1794-1864

Abstract

This dissertation is a historical study of racial separation in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) from the 1790s to the 1860s. It asks why both Black and White Methodists, who strongly valued spiritual unity in the denomination, supported racial segregation. Fostering unity through racial separation began at a small level, the weekly Methodist class meeting, but it quickly evolved into separate congregations, churches, and, eventually, conferences. By 1864, most separate Black churches within the MEC were moved into a series of segregated “mission” conferences. While many Black Methodists in the nineteenth century chose independence through the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and other independent denominations, a significant number of Black Methodists decided to remain within the MEC and work for greater autonomy within the church. As these Black Methodists wrestled over how to secure greater rights, they clashed with one another and with White Methodists over missions, abolition, and colonization. Drawing on archival research into transatlantic Black Methodism, I argue that debates over colonization and the MEC mission to Liberia proved integral to the embrace of racial separation. In Liberia, Americo-Liberian Methodists secured significant leadership roles and autonomy. Their success in this missional space influenced Black Methodists in the United States to argue for “mission” conferences and paved the way for a segregated conference structure which lasted for over a century. Those in favor of integration lamented that the church had instituted a caste system in the Church of God.