Father Divine

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FATHER DIVINE

Father Divine (May 1879–September 10, 1965), the noted and controversial founder of the Peace Mission movement, gained national prominence during the Great Depression for his ability to feed and provide jobs for the poor, as well as for his followers' claims that he was God.

Born George Baker in Rockville, Maryland, in 1879, Divine grew up in poverty and segregation, the son of ex-slaves who were menial laborers. Although he had limited educational opportunities, he became an avid reader of religious literature. In 1899, he moved to Baltimore, where he worked as a gardener and taught Sunday school in a storefront church. During these years, Baker formulated a unique theology that blended New Thought (the mind power philosophy that encouraged believers to channel God's inner presence for happiness, prosperity, and health), African-American Christianity, Pentecostalism, and other religious ideologies. In 1912, convinced that he had achieved oneness with God, he set out as an itinerant preacher and attracted a small following who recognized his divinity.

In 1919, Baker, now known as Father Divine, settled with his flock and lived peacefully in Sayville, Long Island. But with the onset of the Depression, Divine's congregation expanded and his white neighbors turned hostile and complained, which lead to his conviction in 1932 for maintaining a public nuisance. Only four days after handing down the maximum sentence, the presiding judge died suddenly. The incident propelled Father Divine into the national limelight.

After his conviction was overturned, Divine relocated his headquarters to Harlem, where interest in his teachings boomed. Thousands attended Peace Mission banquets and rallies. Nationwide disciples followed his example by pooling their resources to open up Peace Missions and collective business endeavors. Additionally, Divine campaigned vigorously for civil rights, sponsoring voter registration drives and various challenges to segregation. Divine emerged as a critic of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Charging that Roosevelt's New Deal perpetuated dependency, Divine preached self-reliance and collective capitalism. He also attacked Roosevelt's refusal to address racial issues and endorse anti-lynching legislation.

The Peace Mission movement was one of the few genuinely integrated organizations of the 1930s and offered hope to a variety of Americans. Certainly, many were drawn to Father Divine for their basic needs. But his social agenda, as well as his conviction that everyone could achieve success through positive thinking, was particularly empowering for both blacks, whose community had historically languished economically in depression, and whites who were also confronting economic chaos.

See Also: AFRICAN AMERICANS, IMPACT OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION ON; CHARITY; RELIGION.