Pulpit and Politics: Separation of Church and State in the Black Church

McMickle (Where Have All The Prophets Gone?), president of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, delivers a concise if sometimes confusing analysis of the less-than-arm's length relationship of church and state in black churches. By describing his own experience as a preacher/politician, McMickle writes from the perspective of someone with intimate knowledge of the necessary components of black leadership. He explains that there is a long tradition of preacher/politicians who use "politics as a means of grace" in the black community, since there are few other paths to opportunity for African-Americans in politics than via participation in religious life. It is sometimes not clear who the audience for McMickle's argument is %E2%80%93 some but not all of the chapters end with discussion questions potentially for use by book or classroom groups -- and there is some repetition, but he has clearly done his homework about the rules for preacher/politicians, and he describes those clearly. The end result is a solid reference book for pastors and churches in time for midterm %E2%80%93 or other %E2%80%93 elections. (Oct.)