womanist theology

(A)theologies

To Pray or to Protest? The Both/And-ness of Black Christianity

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I want to argue that we need to have a more expansive understanding of black religious identities, an understanding that Womanist Theologians have already pushed us toward, an understanding that does not compartmentalize black religious thought and responses into shallow categories like “right/conservative/prayerful” and “left/academic/protester”; categories that are too small, too static, and too constricting for us to comprehend the diversity of black religious lives and black political activity.

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Culture

Tyler Perry’s Museum of Blackness

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Tyler Perry’s Madea franchise is part of a collective of black, fat drag, comedy-dramas. These films bear six distinguishing features: 1) they are considered “successful” because they gross more than their production costs; 2) they are accompanied by an R&B/gospel soundtrack, and 3) include casts of popular black actors and actresses who are well known within African American communities. Also characteristic of these films are 4) the use of multiple and arguably watered-down Protestant messages about the importance of faith in God, couched in comedic performance, to appeal to mass audiences. An additional feature is that 5) the black church is the space where a significant turning point and/or the film’s resolution occur. Most notably, these films are characterized by 6) the donning of intricately designed fat suits by black men (Tyler Perry, Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy) to parody black women.

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(A)theologies

Liberal Intolerance, Or, an Occasion for Public Theology

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Intolerance is perhaps easier to attribute to those who claim an observance to biblical orthodoxy. From gay rights to science, proponents of biblical orthodoxy have assumed the role of self-appointed guardians of the truth. Such claims are the feeble attempt to provide answers to moral questions using a litany of biblical texts that support their presuppositions. But the unhealthy adherence to orthodoxy is not the exclusive property of those who embrace a conservative approach to scripture. 

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(A)theologies

An Historic Meeting: African and African Diaspora Women Convene in Ghana for First-Ever Religion Conference

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Still, that the women gathered at all is both noteworthy and historic. This meeting in Ghana is related to mid-twentieth century liberation movements and, especially, mid-to-late twentieth century liberation theologies. The furor that emerged during the 2008 US presidential campaign over black liberation theology and the recent echo of that uproar during the current campaign only highlights the unlikeliness of a convening of a meeting rooted in mid-twentieth century ideals.

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