A.G.Miller Miller, Religion Dept - F & L Lord Davis Professor

Grier-Miller, Brenda - Brenda.Grier-Miller@oberlin.edu
Student Academic Services - Assoc Dean/Dir-SSS/Dean-2007
Peters Hall 118 , x58464

 

Miller, Albert - A.G.Miller@oberlin.edu Religion Dept - F & L Lord Davis Professor Rice Hall 327 , x58652 Courses Semester Offered: First Semester Credits (Range): 3 Hours Attribute: 3 HU, CD Albert G. Miller Davis Associate Professor of Religion (1991) BSW, Adelphi University, 1978 MSW, Adelphi University, 1979 MA, Princeton University, 1989 PhD, Princeton University, 1993 An introduction to the religious movements and institutions of African-Americans from the period of slavery to the present. Various topics including: African religions; slave religion; independent black Protestant churches; gender and race relations in American church life; politics in black churches; missionary efforts to Africa and the Caribbean; Islam, Judaism, Catholicism, Pentecostalism; the civil rights movement; modern role of religion in African-American life. Enrollment Limit: 45. Instructor: A. Miller Semester Offered: First Semester Credits (Range): 3 Hours Attribute: 3 HU, CD An introduction to the philosophical basis of African society through a study of various African Religions: Traditional Religions as well as Islam and Christianity, especially in their indigenized forms. This study will also examine the underlying nature of African religious thought, the function of myth and ritual, and the complex and profoundly sophisticated African concepts of the spiritual universe. Consideration will be given to the relationship between religion and culture in various societies. Questions will be raised regarding the differentways religion is conceived in various cultures: African and “non-African,” “Western” and “non-Western.” Enrollment Limit: 35. Instructor: A. Miller Next Offered: 2008-09 Semester Offered: Second Semester Credits (Range): 4 Hours Attribute: 4 HU, CD, Wri An interpretation of the lives and thought of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. in the context of the civil rights movement. It will focus on the theological, political, cultural, and psycho-social views which informed their religio-moral thought and actions. The course will include films, autobiographies, biographies, collected writings and speeches, as well as interpretations of these two religious and political leaders. Enrollment Limit: 14. Instructor: A. Miller A. G. Miller Associate Professor Rice 327 440-775-8652 A.G.Miller@Oberlin.edu Education B.S.W., Adelphi University, 1978 M.S.W., Adelphi University, 1979 M.A., Princeton University, 1989 Ph.D., Princeton University, 1994 Selected Publications Elevating The Race:  Theophilus G. Steward and The Making of An African-American  Civil Religion, 1865-1924, University of Tennessee Press, Spring, 2003 "The Construction of A Black Fundamentalist World View: The Role of Bible Schools."<SPANSTYLE="MSO-SPACERUN: yes?>  ed. Vincent Wimbush. Continuum International, Fall 2000.<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O />  "The Rise of African-American Evangelicalism in American Culture" in Perspectives on American Religion and Culture. ed. Peter Williams. Oxford:Blackwell Publishers Limited, 1999.  "A Timeline of Black Christianity before the Civil War."  Christian History Issue 62, vol. XVIII, no. 2: 26-27. Detailed timeline : http://www.christianityonline.com/christianhistory/62H/62H026.html "At-Risk Youth, At-Risk Church:  What Jesus Christ And African American Teenagers Are Telling to The African American Church" The 1997 Princeton Lectures on Youth, Church and Culture , Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey. http://www.ptsem.edu/iym/index.htm. "Striving to Reconcile the World:  A Glimpse of the Life and Writings of Theophilus Gould Steward" in The A. M. E. Church Review, Vol., CXI, no.362, 1996. "Pentecostalism as a Social Movement:  Beyond the Theory of Deprivation" in Journal of Pentecostal Theology, 9 (Fall 1996):  97-114.  "National Black Evangelical Association" in Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History, eds. Jack Salzman, David Lionel Smith, and Cornel West.  New York:  Macmillan Reference Library, 1996. Courses Religion 105. Introduction to Religion: African Religions and Their Thought Systems Religion 115. Colloquim: Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Religion 282. Survey of American Christianity Religion 284. The History of the African-American Religious Experience Religion 285. Evangelicalism in the United States Religion 384. Seminar: Selected Topics in African-American Religious History: The Black Theology Movement Religion 385. Seminar: Selected Topics in American Religious History

A.G. Miller grew up in a restrictive church.  Their theology, focusing on the wrath and vengeance of G-d, had little to do with social action or community involvement.  Members were not to participate in sports, dancing, movie watching, etc.  According to Prof. Miller, the church would "scare you into heaven and out of hell."  <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

Partly because of its anti-social action slant the Church leader had denounced Martin Luther King ñ A.G. left the religion for the streets.  It wasn't until he went off to college, that he "reclaimed" his religion.  At college, he met people who "did not see a contradiction between spirituality and social involvement." 

 

He soon joined the House of the Lord Pentecostal Church, currently under the leadership of Herbert Doughtry.  As mentioned above, the Church was very focused on helping the community and translating its religious doctrine into real social activism.  A.G., still young at heart (even today) related to this call for activism and found himself at home in religion once again.

 

Since his move to Oberlin, OH in 1991, where he teaches religion at Oberlin College, Professor and Pastor Miller continues his focus on social activism.  Through the Oberlin House of the Lord, Miller and his fellow members encourage people to ask, think and act on their conscience not only during biblical sermons but in their communities, offices, and in the world at large.

The Oberlin House of the Lord Fellowship
251 Hollywood Street
Oberlin, Ohio

District Minister A. G. Miller, Pastor

Membership Lessons 10:30am
Sunday Worship: 11:30am