Father
Divine (ca. 1875-1965) is a notable African-American in the Pentecostal
Holiness Movement. Born George Baker, in Maryland or Georgia, he died
Father God Divine at his Woodmount estate in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania.
Little is known of the early years of his life, but during his active
ministry, much interest was taken in his career as Father Divine. He was
the founder of the International Peace Mission Movement, the first big
name prosperity Gospel preacher, a political leader and social activist,
and then later reached the point where he believed he was the divine
expression of God on Earth. Some speculate that he was a forerunner of
the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. There are a number of
resources in the library about Father Divine, all available for
check-out. See the display on the main floor.
Mother Divine, The Peace Mission Movement (1982), offers an insider’s view of the movement. Kenneth Burnham, God Comes to America (1979), is a useful study that cites sources extensively. Robert Weisbrot,Father Divine and the Struggle for Racial Equality
(1983), is an important reconsideration of Father Divine that places
him and his movement in the context of the civil rights struggle.
