Albert J. Raboteau
Encyclopedia
Albert Jordy Raboteau is an African American scholar of African and African American religions.
Before Raboteau was born, his father, Albert Jordy Raboteau (1899-1943), was killed in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
, by a white man who was never convicted of the crime. His mother moved from the South
where she was a teacher, and moved to find a better place for her children. She remarried to an African American priest. Raboteau's stepfather taught him Latin and Greek
starting at five years old, and also helped him focus on church and education. He was accepted into college at the age of sixteen. He was awarded a BA by Loyola University
in 1964 and an MA in English from the University of California, Berkeley
. He entered the Yale
Graduate Program in Religious Studies, where he studied with American religious historian Sydney Ahlstrom and African American historian John Blassingame, receiving his PhD in 1974. Raboteau's dissertation, later revised and published as the book Slave Religion: The "Invisible Institution" in the Antebellum South, was published just as the black studies movement was gaining steam in the 1970s and in the wake of revolutionary scholarship on American slavery: Olli Alho's The Religion of Slaves (1976), Blassingame's Slave Community (1972) and Slave Testimony (1977), Eugene Genovese's Roll, Jordan, Roll (1974), and Lawrence Levine's Black Culture and Black Consciousness (1977).
In 1982 Princeton University
hired Raboteau, first as a visiting professor and then as full-time faculty. He is currently (2009) Henry W. Putnam Professor of Religion. His research and teaching focus on American Catholic history, African American religions, and religion and immigration issues. He chaired the Department of Religion (1987-1992) and also served as dean of the Graduate School (1992-1993). He received the Lifetime Service Award (Journey Award) in both 2005 and 2006. In 2005, he also received the special Achievement Award (Journey Award). He has subsequently converted to Eastern Orthodoxy.
Before Raboteau was born, his father, Albert Jordy Raboteau (1899-1943), was killed in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Bay Saint Louis is a city located in Hancock County, Mississippi. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 8,209. It is the county seat of Hancock County...
, by a white man who was never convicted of the crime. His mother moved from the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
where she was a teacher, and moved to find a better place for her children. She remarried to an African American priest. Raboteau's stepfather taught him Latin and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
starting at five years old, and also helped him focus on church and education. He was accepted into college at the age of sixteen. He was awarded a BA by Loyola University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions located in Los Angeles, California, United States...
in 1964 and an MA in English from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. He entered the Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
Graduate Program in Religious Studies, where he studied with American religious historian Sydney Ahlstrom and African American historian John Blassingame, receiving his PhD in 1974. Raboteau's dissertation, later revised and published as the book Slave Religion: The "Invisible Institution" in the Antebellum South, was published just as the black studies movement was gaining steam in the 1970s and in the wake of revolutionary scholarship on American slavery: Olli Alho's The Religion of Slaves (1976), Blassingame's Slave Community (1972) and Slave Testimony (1977), Eugene Genovese's Roll, Jordan, Roll (1974), and Lawrence Levine's Black Culture and Black Consciousness (1977).
In 1982 Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
hired Raboteau, first as a visiting professor and then as full-time faculty. He is currently (2009) Henry W. Putnam Professor of Religion. His research and teaching focus on American Catholic history, African American religions, and religion and immigration issues. He chaired the Department of Religion (1987-1992) and also served as dean of the Graduate School (1992-1993). He received the Lifetime Service Award (Journey Award) in both 2005 and 2006. In 2005, he also received the special Achievement Award (Journey Award). He has subsequently converted to Eastern Orthodoxy.
Books
- Slave Religion: The Invisible Institution in the Antebellum South. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978. ISBN 0-19-502438-9.
- A Fire in the Bones: Reflections on African-American Religious History. Boston: Beacon Press, 1995. ISBN 0-8070-0932-6.
- A Sorrowful Joy. New York: Paulist Press, 2002. ISBN 0-8091-4093-4.
- Canaan Land: A Religious History of African Americans. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-19-514585-2.
- African American Religion: Interpretive Essays in History and Culture. New York: Routledge, 1997. ISBN 0-415-91458-2. Co-edited with Timothy E. Fulop.
See also
African Americans and Orthodox Christianity- Raphael MorganRaphael MorganVery Rev. Raphael Morgan was a Jamaican-American priest of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, designated as "Priest-Apostolic" to America and the West Indies, later the founder and superior of the Order of the Cross of Golgotha, and thought to be the first Black Orthodox clergyman in America.He spoke...
. - George Alexander McGuireGeorge Alexander McGuireGeorge Alexander McGuire was the first Bishop, Metropolitan Archbishop and Primate of the African Orthodox Church . He was an Episcopal Priest who became involved in a movement to establish a Black Anglican denomination...
.