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[ 83 ] Doing Public Theology archibald j. carey jr. and the ministry of politics After a decade of community and civil rights involvement, Archibald J. Carey Jr. plunged into the political arena as a candidate for public office, as a party operative, and as a federal appointee. At the same time, he maintained his ministry and served in several denominational roles. Carey saw all of these activities as intrinsic parts of a public ministry designed to lift African Americans and reform their religious institutions—that is, as part of a public theology. Carey believed that his legal training and practice enabled him to be engaged “vitally in the government under which I and my people live.” Since government affected “every important phase of our lives,” Carey wanted to influence “what kind of government it shall be.” At the same time, however, he was “first and foremost an African Methodist preacher and the African Methodist Episcopal Church is at once my home and my first love.” He cited Richard Allen, the church’s founder, “as a fighter against segregation” as well as “a workman in the building of the Kingdom of God.” Hence, members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), he believed, should emulate their first bishop and become “dedicated not only to the calling of God but to the service of man” and to “making a kingdom of men [into] a kingdom of heaven.” AME preachers should serve as officers in local chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Urban League affiliates, “and all other movements for civic improvement or human freedom .” Ministerial involvements with government were also desirable, as in the case of Bishop Decatur Ward Nichols, who “sat and counseled” with President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Carey hoped that “every leader of African Methodism” would follow Nichols’s example.1 chapter 5 archibald j. carey jr. and the ministry of politics [ 84 ] Both Archibald J. Carey Jr. and his father learned that the practice of public theology drew not only commendations but also criticism from contemporaries. The Star of Zion, the organ of the AME Zion Church, for example, praised the senior Carey as having done “good service” for blacks as a political officeholder. Despite “the feeling of impropriety of a bishop identifying himself with a political machine,” said the newspaper, some people saw the benefits of Carey’s partisan involvements. According to Howard University professor Kelly Miller, however, Carey, though “a man of intelligence, energy and resourcefulness” and “loyal to his race and church,” was guilty of poor judgment, having engaged in an “unfortunate involvement . . . in crooked politics” that was “pernicious not only to his denomination, but upon the religious and moral life of the colored race.” Miller doubted whether “any member of the great African Methodist [Episcopal] Church [could] come forth and declare that [Carey’s] meddling in politics has resulted in any good to the church or to the race.” Miller therefore warned ministers “to let politics alone.”2 Archibald J. Carey Jr. received similar criticism. One Chicagoan charged that while at seminary, Carey had stated that he was studying theology because it was “as good a racket as any.” She thus “could not respect” him “as fit to preach God’s word” and believed that he would fail in his “various appointments” in government. Carey vehemently denied the statement and declared that he “could not have had any such feeling” but also wrote, “I have long been interested in many activities outside of the church and perhaps I do not conform to your idea of a typical minister.” He affirmed “without qualification, my own reverence for God and my sincerity of purpose , both as a minister and in any other activity in which I may engage.” Another observer, certain that Carey’s congregation had suffered because of his political aspirations , asked, “Who will bury the dead . . . ?, who will visit the sick . . . ?, who will baptize our children . . . ?, who will say the prayers and give comfort when we need them most . . . ?” Therefore, Carey needed to decide whether “to be a Minister of the Gospel or a Politician.” If Carey continued to “dabble in politics,” he would become contaminated and his usefulness would become compromised. A political opponent accused Carey of trying to serve both God and Mammon. Though such comments stunned and hurt Carey, he never wavered in his faith that preachers belonged in the public and political arenas.3 Despite their...

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