Search Results (84)

“If it wasn’t for the women” is a common refrain in Black Church culture, made most popular by Cheryl Townsend Gilkes’ sociology of religion work in the 1990s. As conversations grow around a perceived disconnection from the church—particularly among younger generations—many Black congregations and denominations are asking the following question: Where do we go from here? One possible response is to ask the women. Black women have long been central to the sustenance and theological framing of the Black Church. However, many contemporary Black women theologians and church-adjacent writers are reshaping religious discourse in ways that move beyond traditional ecclesial boundaries and into the interiority of Black womanhood. This turn should be considered essential in any reimagining of the Black Church. This paper employs content analysis to examine five contemporary works by Black women thinkers—Candice Benbow, Lyvonne Briggs, Tricia Hersey, EbonyJanice Moore, and Cole Arthur Riley—whose writings reflect Black women’s embodied spirituality, theological imagination, cultural meaning-making, and institutional critique within Black religious life. Rather than signaling a decline in moral or spiritual life, their work points to the search for sacred spaces that are more liberative, inclusive, and attuned to lived experience. Through a thematic analysis of Power, Authority, and Institutional Critique; Afrofuturistic Visioning of Faith; Sacred Embodiment and Spiritual Praxis; Language and Rhetorical Strategies; Gender, Sexuality, and Sacred Autonomy; and Liberation, Justice, and Social Transformation, this study contributes to the evolving conversation on Black women’s spirituality, leadership in religious spaces, and a possible iteration of the Black Church. Full article

Postcolonial discourses on religion have extensively explored the intersections of race and religion. Particular research within such discourses has been conducted to explore the intersection of Whiteness and Christianity in postcolonial contexts. The Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) is an example of a postcolonial Christian denomination that seeks to assert itself as ‘authentically African’ whilst having a distinctly colonial, missionary history in Southern Africa. This article explores the enduring intersections of Whiteness and Christianity in the MCSA through analyzing the methodology and theoretical framework of a discussion document produced by the MCSA to explore the relationship between Methodism, ukuthwasa, and African Indigenous Religion. I contend that the MCSA structurally and epistemically, albeit unintentionally, reproduces Whiteness through privileging seemingly universal Methodist methods, theories, and concepts for producing theological knowledge that are colonially produced and continue to underscore the infrastructure of MCSA ecclesiology. The stubborn persistence of colonially inherited epistemologies is particularly evident when we see how a potentially groundbreaking document on ukuthwasa (calling) is subjected to the constraints of the very epistemic traditions it is intended to dislodge. Furthermore, I argue that, through the persistence of this epistemology, the MCSA moves to domesticate and civilize the African Indigenous in Southern Africa. Full article

The centrality of disruption as a graced moment of awakening social imagination to a new dawn where human flourishing becomes a possibility ought to be the focus of the church’s praxes of sacramental rituals. In fact, Christianity is itself a religion of disruption. The God–human reality that manifests itself in Jesus Christ is itself a graced disruption. God chooses to disrupt the familiar world of fallenness and thus offers God-self as a mediating gift that reorients creation to a new way of being that transcends the familiar orientation towards sin. Disruption, as an existential phenomenon, is not alien to the human condition. In fact, all aspects of human life are saturated with disruption. In fact, grace is itself God’s disruptive intervention in human history. Since creation embodies the goodness of God, creation can be said to be a sacramental symbol of disruption. In a social world where racism and other structures of marginality operate, victims of such marginalities embody in their existence the disruptive grace that can transform such a society. Black bodies are loci for encountering the disruptive grace intended to end the vice of racism. They also serve as the loci for the church to imagine a new way of being a sacrament of disruption in the world because of their existential proximity to the historical realities defining the life of Jesus Christ as a victim of the hegemony of empire. This work shows how black bodies can help foster a new imagination of the human in our contemporary world where systems of marginalization continue to shape human life in general. It attempts to address the following question: how can one conceive of black bodies in a world defined by systems of erasure that directly affect black persons and their embodied agencies? To do this effectively, this work appropriates a constructive theological approach that grounds itself in an interdisciplinary discourse with the intent to argue that to speak of the human person is to instantiate a polyphony of insights: insights that appeal to an ethical consciousness that is defined by altruism. Full article

Black Theology of Liberation, particularly in South Africa, has always been for Black people in the world and produced theological reflections through the lens of Black people. In the evolving scholarship on BTL, there has been challenges in its middle class positionality toward the Black poor and oppressed. The Church Land Programme in Pietermaritzburg was presented with a similar challenge on its positionality in its work on land reform. The CLP’s shift from an organisation working on behalf of the Black poor to working with them may provide suggestions for BTL’s methodology and positionality. This article analyses the Church Land Programme’s community-led publications and how these provide innovative methodological choices for Black Theology of Liberation scholars. Firstly, it explores the Church Land Programme’s history, strategic shifts, and publication partnerships within communities. Secondly, is analyses the publications’ use of stories from within communities. Finally, it discusses new methodological choices in Black Theology of Liberation through lessons from the Church Land Programme’s shift and resultant publications. The results reveal that narratives from below can be promoted in Black Theology of Liberation’s methodology. Full article

The deterioration of stone heritage in urban environments is mainly the product of sources of air pollution like vehicular traffic and domestic heating. The results of these phenomena usually manifest as acid rain and particulate patinas, acting on the surface of stone monuments to form the so-called “black crusts”, a typical stone degradation product, mainly composed of gypsum. The aims of this study were to investigate the extent of these phenomena on the decorative apparatus of the frontal façade of Gesù Nuovo Church, in the historical centre of Naples (Italy). Preliminary diagnostics consisted of XRD and FTIR to analyse the composition of stone materials and inquire about previous restorations. The chemical characterization of black crusts was performed, using a diverse array of techniques, to highlight how different compounds are distributed along a vertical gradient and considering the proximity of specific sources of pollution (vehicle engine ignition, incense combustion, domestic heating products). Finally, molecular biology techniques were employed to identify the organisms which typically dwell in this formation and speculate about their contribution to the degradation of stone. Full article

Growth in forms of violence germinates from the abject soil of racism and colonialism. This article investigates religious racism in Brazil in the State of Rio de Janeiro through in-depth case studies and published data. First, I analyze how religious racism is utilized as a means to legitimize the demonization and consequent violence directed at Afro-Brazilian religions. Through an analysis of terreiro leaders’ discourses, I present a conception in which demonization and deliberate attacks imply the persecution of ways of being, existing, doing, and living of Black African origin. I use this lens to highlight the role that neo-Pentecostal churches and the theology of spiritual battle play in the resurgence of violence against Afro-religious people. Then, I problematize the harmful relationships between the demonization of terreiros and the extremely warlike conception of Christian faith. Ultimately, I argue that racist theological discourse of demonization manifests itself through verbal, physical, psychological, moral, and patrimonial aggression, putting the existence of terreiro peoples and communities at risk. Full article

This article explores the pressing issue of the re-imagination of Religious Education in today’s Catholic school. It does so within the context of the plenary re-imagination of the contemporary Catholic school itself, a work-in-progress to which it has both a complementary and a symbiotic relationship. In doing so, the author draws upon sources as diverse as the anthropological lessons at the heart of the powerful and inspiring All Blacks Rugby code, the ANZAC Tradition and the narrative of the surprisingly transformative encounter of the Samaritan woman with Jesus at Jacob’s well in the Gospel of John (Jn 4:4–42). The Aparecida Document (2007) issued by the Episcopal Council of Latin American Bishops (CELAM) under the leadership of the then-Cardinal Bergoglio prior to his elevation to the Papacy and his adoption of the Pontifical name, ‘Francis’ (2013) provides a compass to find the way forward, not only for the Church itself but for Catholic Schools within its embrace. This article examines the potential power of the seminal integration of Religious Education within the plenary and daily narrative of the whole school, the liberating perspective gained through the re-defining and re-owning of it as ‘the work of the whole educative village’ and the acceptance of the responsibilities and challenges that this seismically challenging conceptual shift will necessarily bring. Full article

This article analyzes recent controversies around gender in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) by examining an online list of women pastors from 112 SBC churches created in 2023 by supporters of an amendment to restrict “any kind” of pastor to qualified men. Using interviews with listed women and primary sources posted to church websites in the form of statements of beliefs, staff pages, church newsletters, church council minutes, and pastors’ blogs, this study examines the identity of these women and how they and their churches responded to being publicly identified. It also analyzes the making of this list in the context of denominational history and contemporaneous crises. This study argues that while the proposed amendment largely borrowed language, recycled tactics, and reiterated themes from previous changes to the SBC Faith and Message, divergent responses to the list revealed the persistence of racial divisions in the denomination. Most striking is the absence of any direct response to the list or the proposed amendment by listed Black churches, indicating the complicated and contingent relationship between these churches and the denomination. The absence of engagement also subtlety signals the underlying failure by 2024 of a racial reconciliation movement championed by SBC leaders throughout the previous three decades. Full article

Throughout history, the architecture of worship structures has been shaped based on different cultures and belief systems during the Roman, Seljuk, Anatolian Principalities, and Ottoman periods. Additionally, it is understood that the sociocultural and ritual structure in which the worship place is built plays a significant role in church architecture. In province of Ordu, rich in historical and cultural heritage, historical structures outside the city center have not been well preserved. In recent years, neglected historical structures have been restored through various methods with public investments, aiming to reintegrate them into urban life. Through chemical and mineralogical (by microscopy) examinations aimed at determining the types of historical structural materials used for this purpose, the preservation of historical structures in Ordu province and their transfer to future generations is targeted. Church structures, holding a distinct significance in the region’s history, exhibit various characteristics in terms of location, climate, and sociocultural and ritual aspects in the Black Sea region. In this regard, the restoration of the historical Taşbaşı Church in the Altınordu district of Ordu province has been carried out considering scientific techniques and methods, serving as a guide for similar studies in the region in terms of laboratory analysis, studies, planning, project development, and implementation stages. Full article

The Women’s March on 21 January 2017, opened a new social and political landscape for Muslim women to engage in Islamic liberatory activism. I locate Muslim women’s participation in the marches following the 2017 ‘Muslim travel ban policy’ as a site for discovering the link between the politics of resistance and the utility of Islam as a source for liberation. I argue that Muslim women living in minority and post-secular contexts resort to faith as a source of agentival liberation to address the political rhetoric of anti-Islamic sentiments and policies. The outcome of this research demonstrates (1) how Muslim women activists challenge the Western narratives of being oppressed and explore the ways they want to represent themselves; (2) how Islam serves as a catalyst for theological resistance and how this enhances the role of Muslim women as moral and spiritual agents in transforming their political and social conditions; (3) how the Islamic liberation in the US context historically intersects with Black churches’ resistance toward White racism; and (4) how Muslim women’s agency as spiritual beings is linked to the promotion of justice in the Western liberatory movements. Overall, the article shows how Muslim women resort to their spiritual journey and use such narratives to confront unjust political rhetoric and policies. Full article

In 1926, a New York Times article described the cultural and ethnic flows in south Brazil as a “Melting Pot”. The report predicted that German Brazilians, tied to their ethnoracial origin, would soon be Brazilianized. The study of congregational song practices offers insight into the relationship between migration, race, culture, and ethnicity. Moreover, investigating Brazilian Lutheran singing practices helps us understand how the New York Times’ prediction unfolded on the ground. This paper examines the Brazilian Lutheran hymnal Livro de Canto, published in 2017, and displays how Brazil’s ethnoracial diversity is manifested and negotiated in the Lutheran context, both musically and theologically. By interviewing members of the hymnal committee and investigating how they dealt with Brazil’s ethnoraciality in the context of the hymnal compilation, this paper demonstrates ways denominations and churchgoers negotiate theological, cultural, musical, and ethnoracial identities through congregational singing. More importantly, it showcases how Brazilian Lutheran church music practices inform broader social conversations around racism, nationalism, Blackness, and Brazilianness. Full article

This paper builds upon and extends Christian and legal scholarship on the civil rights movement by illuminating a climate of religious freedom that served as a catalyst for and was integral to the success of the spirited activism of the civil rights movement. To date, scholars have not extensively considered how the expansion of religious freedom in church and state jurisprudence both directly and indirectly created a climate that contributed to the success of the CRM, and how advancements in civil rights impacted the broader revolution occurring in constitutional rights. The climate of religious freedom included court support for evangelizing in residentially exclusive areas, exemptions for conscientious opposers from participating in oath swearing and other ceremonies, and exemptions from other general laws that unduly inhibited the free exercise of religious rights. Full article

In St. Jacob’s parish church in Ormož, Slovenia, mural paintings from around 1350–1370 are partially conserved in the northeastern corner of the main nave. They are almost completely black, indicating a large-scale pigment degradation. They were studied as a part of a larger research project aiming to identify materials applied and their possible degradation. First, they were studied in situ, and next, extracted samples of plaster, pigments, and colour layers were analysed by optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, SEM-EDS, and XRD. Haematite, green earth, malachite, azurite, and tenorite were identified, showing that azurite and perhaps also malachite degraded to black tenorite, probably due to their fine grinding and their application directly on the fresh plaster. The plaster is made with small and large amounts of aggregate with mostly quartz with some impurities, which makes it fragile. The original appearance of these murals was of bright blue and green colours. Full article

Limited studies have empirically investigated the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among Black clergy and religious leaders despite their status as helping professionals who are implicated in times of crisis. In light of cultural considerations that position African American churches as trusted institutions linking local communities of color with various social services, African American religious leaders are particularly implicated during crisis situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, the present study investigates the relationships between adverse childhood experiences, religious coping, and social support from one’s congregation among a sample of Black religious leaders within Christian churches. Compared to a national sample of Black Americans, we observed significantly higher prevalence rates for four forms of adverse childhood experiences: emotional neglect, parental separation or divorce, mental illness in the household, and an incarcerated family member. The results from two moderated moderation statistical models indicated that higher adverse childhood experiences predicted greater endorsement of PTSD symptoms and that negative religious coping strengthened this relationship. Furthermore, this moderation effect was itself moderated by greater perceived emotional support from one’s congregation, such that greater support mitigated this moderation effect. Conversely, we also found that positive religious coping has the potential to compensate for the lack of emotional support from the congregation. Implications for caring for clergy and religious leaders both within the church and in seminaries are provided. Full article

It was the late Bishop Ithiel Conrad Clemmons, former minister of the First Church of God in Christ of Brooklyn, New York, who said of the late famed novelist/essayist James Baldwin that “he was America’s inside eye on the Black Holiness and Pentecostal Churches”. Though Baldwin admitted that the culture and ethos of the African-American Pentecostal church were “highly significant and indelibly imprinted upon him”, according to Baldwin, his faith community’s “naiveté about life appalled him and drove him away”. While Baldwin left behind the church of his youth, never to return, for the remainder of his writing career, the “backslidden” minister’s literary musings continued to be informed (in both style and content) by the formative religious tradition that he left behind. Though several studies have been undertaken that examine Baldwin’s significance to various aspects of the study of African-American religion and culture, precious little has been written regarding Baldwin’s continuing engagement of the idiom of African-American preaching, the idiom which cultural critic Michael Eric Dyson has nominated as the “jewel in the crown of Black Sacred Rhetoric”. While many studies of Baldwin include the fact that Baldwin was a preacher’s son and that Baldwin himself preached for a time during his youth, the account is yet to be given of how Baldwin’s writings continued to employ the rhythms, grammar, tones, and textures of the Black sacred rhetorical tradition, especially from beyond the borders of the African-American church. This essay seeks to expose not only how Baldwin self-consciously continued to stand in the rhetorical trajectory of the African-American preaching tradition, but the attempt is also to reveal how the writer secularizes the idiom, providing the Black Holiness preacher a hearing from beyond the church. Through a focus on Baldwin as a Black sacred rhetorician, sermonizing from beyond the church, this essay participates in the nearly 100-year-old conversation instigated by the early African-American literary and cultural critic James Weldon Johnson in God’s Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse (1927), regarding the neglected significance of the sermon and the preacher in African-American literature and Black expressive cultures. Baldwin’s sermonic is here examined as a highly distinctive mode of Black public theologizing. Full article