A significant phenomenon in American Protestantism has been the gender disparity between men and women in religious participation. Theories to explain this female majority of church attenders include the psychological, socialization and structural location categories. While each framework contributes to an understanding of female religiosity, I contend they inadequately explain the preponderance of women in the black church. The focus of this study is to generate a theoretical framework which more appropriately accounts for the predominance of black female participation. The methodology will combine ethnographic research and oral history. The context of the study will be two black congregations in Atlanta, Georgia. I will analyze the religious biographies of women in the context of their religious fellowship, as well as provide a thematic discussion of the emergent social and cultural determinants which occur in the sample generally. Three primary questions will inform the analysis of the data: 1) Do women’s religious histories lend credence to the present theories of women’s church participation? 2) Are there other determinants which more aptly explain black church women’s participation? and 3) Is there any data to suggest that racial identification encourages participation in the black church among women?