“It’s like a safari, and we’re the zebras.”
If you ask tourists why they visit, the answers are similar to those you might expect to hear on Broadway or at the Empire State Building: “It was in all the guide books.” “My travel agent said that I just had to come.” “It’s so iconic from American movies.” Frequently, they’ll point to how different this style of worship is than what they are accustomed to. The music and the worshippers’ enthusiasm are big draws. No one mentions race—at least not to an American journalist. I overheard a 19-year-old Parisian tell his parents, “Ils dansaient les negres“—”They were dancing, those Negroes.” When I asked them why they had visited Kelly Temple, the group—a Jewish family with North African roots—said they were there because “it got two stars” in Routard, a popular French guide book that describes the church’s “very authentic” program. “It’s peculiar, you know,” said the mother, who was clearly impressed. “They are very enthusiastic. You get the impression that they’re really paying true homage to God.”
From Jeremy Stahl’s fascinating and disturbing article on church tourism in Harlem.
