1865–1875

Abstract

The most important immediate result of the war was the rapid expansion of self-directed Black churches and denominations. That expansion included deeper and wider Black engagement with Scripture, but still on terms largely different from those found in white communities. The immediate postwar years also witnessed the first serious publications giving Black spirituals extensive publicity. “Scientific racism” grew stronger in these years, which led some white Christians to reemphasize biblical passages that, while affirming a unified human species, placed Africans in a permanent subservient place. Cincinnati witnessed a much publicized “Bible War” over daily Bible reading in the city’s schools in which the most interesting contribution came from a conservative, Bible-believing Presbyterian, Stanley Matthews, who opposed Bible readings in school because they were bad for the Bible! The establishment of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union drew heavily on scriptural language and themes, even though the Bible itself is actually ambiguous about the use of beverage alcohol.