Black theology
Black theology is a distinctive religious perspective that seeks to reinterpret Christian teachings through the lens of African American experiences, particularly in the context of oppression and liberation. Emerging in the antebellum period, it was initially articulated by black preachers who used biblical narratives to advocate against slavery and empower their congregations. The movement gained significant momentum during the civil rights era, influenced by leaders from both the civil rights and black power movements, as it called for social justice and equality.
A key figure in the development of black theology is Reverend James Cone, who emphasized God's concern for marginalized people and sought to reclaim Christianity from its misappropriation by racist ideologies. Black theology highlights Christ's mission as one of liberation, focusing on the struggles against poverty and injustice. Despite the legal advancements against racism, black theology continues to resonate within African American churches into the twenty-first century, advocating for a united effort towards peace and justice. This theological framework has also inspired similar movements globally, such as in South Africa during the apartheid era.
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Black theology
Black theology is a religious perspective that recontextualizes the teachings of Christianity to account for the experiences of African Americans. Black theology emerged among African American religious leaders in the years leading up to the American Civil War. It became a doctrine of liberation, emphasizing God’s love for the disadvantaged and Christianity’s message of deliverance and freedom. Black theological rhetoric took greater hold of African American society during the civil rights movement, drawing inspiration from the Black Power movement and civil rights leaders. African American churches continued to preach messages based in the Black theological perspective into the twenty-first century.
Background
Early ideas in Black theology emerged in the sermons given by ministers at Black churches and slave preachers on plantations during the Antebellum South, a period of US history that lasted from the late eighteenth century until the American Civil War began in 1861. Early Black theology was based on the doctrine associated with the Protestant Christian church, primarily those teachings rooted in the reformist doctrines of Calvinism and Arminianism. Calvinism preached a harsh theology of innate human evilness, in which salvation was only available to those who were saved by the grace of God. Calvinism was challenged by Arminians, who believed that since Jesus Christ died for everyone’s sins, God’s saving grace was available to all people.
From Calvinism and Arminianism evolved Baptist and Presbyterian churches, which had many Black followers. Black preachers used these theologies to make statements against slavery during the pre–Civil War era of the Southern United States. This type of sermonizing was referred to as protest theology, and its aim was to empower listeners to realize their self-worth. Politics was a major driving force behind protest theology, and many Black ministers utilized political rhetoric of the day to get their points across about slavery. Others stuck to biblical rhetoric to condemn slavery, centering more on the theological debate over the morality of slavery as opposed to its unlawfulness. These ministers often drew on the stories of slavery that appeared in the Bible, such as that of the enslavement of the Israelites and their eventual escape from Egypt.
One of the most famous names in early Black theology was Frederick Douglass, a Black man born into slavery. Douglass taught himself to read and write and became a minister, regularly speaking out against the institution of slavery. Douglass decried White Christians for their hypocrisy, arguing that Christianity condemned hateful practices such as slavery. He criticized White Christians for simultaneously preaching the sacredness of the family while tearing enslaved Black slave families apart.
Arguments made by Black theologians took hold in many Northern states, and antislavery rhetoric had soon caused a major split between the Northern and Southern United States. Politicians spoke of a gradual end to the practice of slavery, a notion that threatened the economies of the Southern states. This conflict led to the Civil War. Black theologians continued their missions throughout the war, and with the Union victory came much rejoicing from Black churches around the country. In the post-war period, Black theology turned its focus from antislavery messages to sermons about Black empowerment and forging a new existence in light of freedom.
Overview
In the decades that followed the Civil War, Black theology took on new meaning as Black church leaders encouraged a sense of structure and organization within black society. They encouraged Black communities to seek out education so they could obtain better jobs and livelihoods for their families. Realizing that educational opportunities were limited to many Black people, some ministers established Black colleges. Despite a steady growth in educated Black citizens, prejudice against African Americans still existed throughout the United States and persisted into the twentieth century.
Racist attitudes permeated a large portion of the Southern United States for many decades after the Civil War. Schools and businesses segregated Black people from White people. White supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan carried out lynchings to terrorize Black communities. Throughout the early twentieth century, a number of White Christian groups used the Bible to justify discriminatory practices such as these. The African American community admonished these actions as an exploitation of Christianity.
In an effort to fight back against this oppression, religious figures of the Black community sought to reclaim Christian teachings for the purpose of Black liberation. Black ministers believed the Christian message had been corrupted by the dominant White culture, and the result was the pervasiveness of racism. The original proponent of the perspective that came to be known as Black theology was Reverend James Cone. Cone drew from the teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X to make Christianity more relevant to the African American community. Cone defined Black theology as a perspective that underscores God’s concerns with the less advantaged of society.
Black theology expanded in the 1960s with the rise in civil rights interests. Black churches banded together to take on racist attitudes, drawing inspiration from the civil rights and Black power movements. On July 31, 1966, fifty-one Black church leaders from across the nation purchased a full-page ad in the New York Times. The ad called for more aggressive tactics in the fight against racism, and many scholars mark this occasion as the mainstream arrival of Black theology. Black theology highlighted Jesus Christ’s role as a revolutionary rising against the reigning powers. It also attempted to reverse the white-washing of the figure of Jesus, highlighting his brown-skinned lineage. Black theology focused on Jesus Christ’s mission to eradicate poverty and liberate oppressed people. It also stressed the importance of a united nation that supported peace and justice.
Black theology persisted beyond the civil rights movement, even as practices such as segregation and lynching became outlawed. Black theology also cropped up in other areas of the world, such as South Africa, where Apartheid was sanctioning gross injustices against Black people throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Black church leaders saw a continued need for Black theology into the twenty-first century despite the strides made against racism as the years passed. Black theological rhetoric continued to see use in many Black Christian congregations throughout the 2020s. Important twenty-first-century figures who continue Black theology include Jude 3 Project founder Lisa Fields, director of Theos Chine McDonald, Professor Robert Beckford, and director of the Oxford Centre for Religion and Culture Anthony G. Reddie.
Bibliography
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