This study develops a Christian theological response to the problems of race and anti-black racism in conversation with black theology and womanist theology. It provides a detailed introduction to multiple voices, developments, and tensions in these two theological traditions over the last half century. It offers an overview of James Cone’s arguments and their reception. It considers turns toward pragmatism and genealogy in black religious scholarship, focusing on Cornel West, Peter Paris, Dwight Hopkins, Victor Anderson, Anthony Pinn, Bryan Massingale, J. Kameron Carter, and Willie Jennings. It analyzes womanist theological treatments of intersectionality, narrative, and embodiment through Jacquelyn Grant, Katie Cannon, Delores Williams, Emilie Townes, Karen Baker-Fletcher, Kelly Brown Douglas, Diana Hayes, and M. Shawn Copeland. Finally, it suggests some open questions related to hybridity, sexuality, and ecology. Ultimately, it argues that the credibility of Christian theological witness depends significantly on the quality of Christian theology’s response to anti-black racism.
Andrew Prevot, Ph.D. (2012), University of Notre Dame, is Associate Professor of Theology at Boston College. He is the author of Thinking Prayer (Notre Dame, 2015), numerous articles and book chapters, and co-editor of Anti-Blackness and Christian Ethics (Orbis, 2017).
Theology and Race
Black and Womanist Traditions in the United States Andrew Prevot
Abstract
Keywords
Preface
Part 1: How to Think about Theology and Race? Part 2: James Cone and the Origins of Black Theology
Part 3: Pragmatic and Genealogical Developments in Black Religious Thought
Part 4: Womanist Contributions: Intersectionality, Narrative, and Embodiment
Conclusion
Appendix: Additional Resources
References
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