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Peace Mission
American religious sect
Quick Facts
Peace Mission, predominantly black 20th-century religious movement in the United States, founded and led by Father Divine (1878/80–1965), who was regarded, or worshiped, by his followers as God, Dean of the Universe, and Harnesser of Atomic Energy. According to most accounts, Father Divine was born George Baker and reared in Savannah, Ga., during the post-Reconstruction period, when black messiahs flourished in an atmosphere of misery and degradation. He received indelible impressions from his immersion in primitive mysticism and the Holiness and Pentecostal movements. The transition from George Baker to Major J. Devine to Father Divine essentially was completed when he ...(100 of 251 words)