Digital List Price:	$29.99
Kindle Price:	$22.49 Save $7.50 (25%)
Sold by:	Amazon.com Services LLC

eBook features:

Highlight, take notes, and search in the book
In this edition, page numbers are just like the physical edition

Read with our free app

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Follow the author

Marie W. Dallam

+ Follow

More books from this author

Daddy Grace: A Celebrity Preacher and His House of Prayer (Religion, Race, and Ethnicity) Illustrated Edition, Kindle Edition

by Marie W Dallam (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.8 34 ratings

Part of: Religion, Race, and Ethnicity (22 books)

See all formats and editions

“This edgy and resourceful analysis” of the early twentieth century preacher “expands our understanding of a critical period in the black church experience” (Shayne Lee, author of T. D. Jakes: America's New Preacher).

In 1919, Charles Manuel “Sweet Daddy” Grace founded the United House of Prayer for All People—long regarded as one of the most extreme Pentecostal sects in the country. The flamboyant Grace wore purple suits with glitzy jewelry, purchased high profile real estate, and conducted baptisms in city streets with a fire hose. He was also reputed to accept massive donations from his poverty-stricken followers and use the money to live lavishly.

Though Grace appeared to be the glue that held this church together, it has continued to thrive long after his death in 1960. After a period of restructuring and streamlining, the House of Prayer remains active with a national membership in the tens of thousands. In Daddy Grace, Marie W. Dallam offers both a religious history of the House of Prayer and an intellectual history of its colorful and enigmatic leader.

Dallam examines the religious nature of the House of Prayer, the dimensions of Grace’s leadership strategies, and the connections between his often ostentatious acts and the intentional infrastructure of the church itself. Furthermore, woven through the text are analyses of the race, class, and gender issues manifest in the House of Prayer structure under Grace’s aegis.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This useful book should promote further serious study of Grace as a religious leader and of the church he founded." ― Journal of American History

"Dallam has made a major contribution to the scholarship and literature on Daddy Grace and the United House of Prayer for All People." ― Choice

"Dallam has uncovered an aspect of the African American past about which we have long known too little. In doing so she has made a substantial contribution to the study of twentieth-century African American religion. Assiduously researched and carefully written, Dallams book finally elevates the scholarship on ‘Sweet’ Daddy Grace to the level of that of his rival and contemporary, Father Divine." -- Wallace D. Best,Harvard Divinity School

"Provides significant insights for our understanding of Daddy Grace and the House of Prayer. This well-researched, clearly written text is a valuable scholarly resource for those interested in New Religious Movements, American Religion, and African American Religion." -- Sandy Dwayne Martin,author of For God and Race

"Dallam has done a great service in providing a detailed scholarly study of ‘Sweet Daddy’ Grace and his church. . . . A thoughtful study that should henceforth make it impossible to dismiss Grace as a ‘cult leader’ who had little religious significance in his lifetime or beyond." ― Journal of American History

"This edgy and resourceful analysis of Daddy Grace, a misunderstood yet highly significant religious luminary, expands our understanding of a critical period in the black church experience. Dallams meticulous scholarship fills in many crucial pieces and refutes longstanding inaccuracies regarding Grace's life, message, and legacy." -- Shayne Lee,author of T. D. Jakes: America's New Preacher

About the Author

Marie W. Dallam is Assistant Professor in the IntellectualHeritage Program at Temple University.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0049EN8W0
Publisher ‏ : ‎ NYU Press; Illustrated edition (November 1, 2007)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 1, 2007
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3357 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 273 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,770,275 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #988 in Black & African American Biographies & Memoirs
- #1,873 in Christian Church History (Kindle Store)
- #2,124 in Biographies of Christianity

Customer Reviews:
4.8 34 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Marie W. Dallam

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5

34 global ratings

2 star

0%

1 star

0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Malcolm Barksdale

OBJECTIVE REPORTING AT ITS BEST - A WONDERFUL AND INFORMATIVE BOOK

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2014

Verified Purchase

Hats off to Dr. Marie Dallam for producing the most courageous, scholarly, and surprisingly candid expose on Daddy Grace and the lost and scattered sheep for whom he structured a nurturing apparatus. Her book does not have many significant shortcomings and, given the history of reporting on the subject, it certainly is an excellent positive start. The few faults of the book primarily appear in the form of omissions-apparently due to the author's limited access to information (germane personal information), about her subject. However, the Hebrew lineage of the da Graca (Gracias) clan is an issue to which prime treatment could have been given but was not. That is unfortunate - for therein lay the key to knowledge and understanding of the mission, First Testament bent, and evolving Second Testament theology and doctrine followed by Daddy Grace (the celebrity preacher) and his House of Prayer. Overall, Dr. Dallam did a commendable job in writing this book. My hat goes off to her.
Malcolm Barksdale

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kindle Customer

Captivating as well as informative!

Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2013

Verified Purchase

This was a memorable read for me! Having grown up in Augusta, GA, my paternal grandmother joined the United House of Prayer for all People early in her life and remained a staunch member until her death in 1991 at the age of 92. Saint Andrews occupied an apartment in the rear of the UHOP church in Augusta. She was a mentor of then Elder Bailey (now Bishop and leader of the church).
Miss Dallam's book is an on target, well thought out representation of a man who was truly before his time and set the bar in the world of evangelical revivalist type leaders. Grace rarely gets his due for achieving success in organizing the often disenfranchised and building a LASTING church. While some ridicule the UHOP for certain practices, considering the humble beginnings,internal conflicts and other issues affecting organized religions,"The House that Daddy Built" is quite intact. Wether or not you're familiar with the era or the man, you'll come away with a better understanding of both.

12 people found this helpful

Helpful

D. A. Sherron

This book is absolutely fascinating.

Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2021

Verified Purchase

Exceptional book. Really details the life of Daddy Grace.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

roz

Good reading...interesting!

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2015

Verified Purchase

Good book, didn't really capture the true church and it's faith in God.

Helpful

all our stories

Religious Cult or Sect?

Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2023

Religious Cult or Sect? Mainline or Mainstream religion?
This book includes a study of religion and how religious leaders and social times influence religious practices. It leaves me wondering how God feels about all of this. Respectfully written and researched, this book leaves me with a lot to think about.

Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2019

Verified Purchase

Great condition, great price, a great book

Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2013

Verified Purchase

I had heard of this man but knew nothing of his history. Very interesting and informative. Helpful for anyone studying charismatic leaders of any period in time.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Harper Monty

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2015

Verified Purchase

Quite a history about a self-made man

One person found this helpful

Helpful