Abstract:
This thesis examines the history and founding of The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco, California between the years 1943 and 1963. Fellowship Church, as it came to be called, was the first intentionally interracial and interdenominational congregation in the United States. The paper addresses the question of why this multiracial project was unable to expand outward into other parts of the country, which was one of the church’s goals, and what this reveals about the limits of the venture. It also provides an in depth examination of the program of the church in order to show the benefits of studying religious congregations as a space where social change occurs rather than as a contributor to other political or social movements. In an effort to separate the church’s history from that of one of its founder Howard Thurman, the paper begins by examining the longer history of interracial and interdenominational efforts within Protestant Christianity. It follows by briefly exploring the religious outlook of Howard Thurman, in order to provide insight into the inspirations of the church’s programming. Through the focuses of interracial membership, intercultural education, and social engagement, the program reveals the unique relationship between the church’s religious outlook and working towards unified community in both the secular and religious realms. Finally, it examines the struggles that Fellowship Church encountered as a church
unaffiliated with a major denomination, with an arguably irreplaceable leader, and situated during a pivotal period in the twentieth century for race relations in the United States.
