Overview

Theologizing in Black is a creative and rigorous comparative study on black theological musings and liberative intellectual contemplations engaging the theological ethics and anthropology of both continental African theologians (Tanzania, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo) and black theologians in the African Diaspora (Haiti, Trinidad, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, United States). Using the pluralist approach to religion promoted by the philosopher of religion and theologian John Hick, the book is also an attempt to bridge an important gap in the comparative study of religion, Africana Studies, and Liberation theology, both in Africa and its diaspora. The book provides an analytical framework and intellectual critique of white Christian theologians who deliberately disengage with and exclude black and Africana theologians in their theological writings and conversations. From this vantage point, Africana critical theology is said to be a theology of contestation as it seeks to deconstruct white supremacy in the theological enterprise. This book not only articulates a rhetoric of protest about the misrepresentation and underrepresentation of the humanity of African and black people in white theological imagination; it also enunciates a positive image of black humanity and congruently promulgates a constructive representation of blackness. The paramount goal of Africana theological anthropology and ethics is the preservation of life and promotion of human dignity and the sheer acknowledgement that the African people and people of African descent are bearers of the image of God.

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9781532699955

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Reviews

"""Theologizing in Black by Celucien Joseph brings the voices of Africa and the African Diaspora to center stage while avoiding the US-centric bias of African Diaspora studies by locating distinctly US voices like James H. Cone in global context. Joseph challenges Africana studies and black liberation theology to engage theological writings in languages other than English, thereby providing a much-needed corrective to the Western and Eurocentric cultural hegemony within academic discourse."" --Ruben Rosario Rodriguez, Saint Louis University ""Joseph's work is theoretically sophisticated and pedagogically innovative. Joseph interacts with major thinkers in the field of black and African religions, but he also introduces other voices who should have been part of the conversations long ago. His analysis of the work of Jean Price Mars, a towering nineteenth-century Haitian intellectual, and his nuanced treatment of black and African religious expressions make his contribution a refreshing scholarly addition. For its clear exposition and thought-provoking ideas, I wholeheartedly recommend this book."" --Ronald Charles, St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, Canada"

Theologizing in Black by Celucien Joseph brings the voices of Africa and the African Diaspora to center stage while avoiding the US-centric bias of African Diaspora studies by locating distinctly US voices like James H. Cone in global context. Joseph challenges Africana studies and black liberation theology to engage theological writings in languages other than English, thereby providing a much-needed corrective to the Western and Eurocentric cultural hegemony within academic discourse. --Ruben Rosario Rodriguez, Saint Louis University Joseph's work is theoretically sophisticated and pedagogically innovative. Joseph interacts with major thinkers in the field of black and African religions, but he also introduces other voices who should have been part of the conversations long ago. His analysis of the work of Jean Price Mars, a towering nineteenth-century Haitian intellectual, and his nuanced treatment of black and African religious expressions make his contribution a refreshing scholarly addition. For its clear exposition and thought-provoking ideas, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. --Ronald Charles, St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, Canada

Author Information

Celucien L. Joseph is Associate Professor of English at Indian River State College. His most recent book is Between Two Worlds: Jean Price-Mars, Haiti, and Africa (2018).

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