Racism and God-Talk: A Latino/a Perspective

by Ruben Rosario Rodriguez

Overview

2011 Winner of the Book Awards Contest in the Discipline of Theology Presented by Alpha Sigma Nu

The apostle Paul wrote that "All of you are one in Christ Jesus." Given Paul’s vision of God’s kingdom defined by the breakdown of all distinctions and relationships of domination—no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female—how do we make sense of ethnic particularity within the church’s theological formulations?

Racism and God-Talk explores the biblical and religious dimensions of North American racism while highlighting examples of resistance within the Christian religious tradition. Social historians have seldom analyzed the problematic of race from a primarily theological perspective. This volume undertakes a critical examination of explicitly theological and confessional perspectives for understanding and transforming North American racism.

Rosario Rodriguez offers insights from Latino/a theology for broader scholarly and social discussions concerning racism, borders, and immigration. The first to analyze race and racism from a Latino/a theological perspective, the volume makes use of a broadened conceptualization of "mestizaje," or mutual cultural exchange, to challenge the church to recognize the effects of racial and ethnic particularity in all theological construction.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814776100
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	07/19/2008
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Rubén Rosario Rodríguez is Assistant Professor in the Department of Theological Studies at Saint Louis University. He is the co-author of Teología: Latino/a Contributions to Systematic Theology.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

I The Fundamental Contradiction

1. 1 Beyond Black and White: Understanding Race in North America

2. 2 Exploring Mestizaje as Theological Metaphor

3. 3 The Public Relevance of Theology

II The Theological Response

1. 4 Guadalupe: Imago Dei Reconsidered

2. 5 The Mestizo Christ

3. 6 The Spirit of Community
   Conclusion: Toward a Mestizo Church
   Notes
   Index
   About the Author

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Rodriguez's volume is a vital contribution, not only to liberation theology, but also to the growing discourse on how to realize a transcultural and transnational civil society."-The Journal of Politics and Religion,

Insightful and creative...This book contributes to a deeper understanding of racism and to the development of a more inclusive, transformative individual, ecclesial and social praxis. Such a dialogue between theology and the broader fields of cultural studies will result in a deeper, more critical understanding of 'mestizaje' as a theological category.-Robert Goizueta,Professor of Theology, Boston College

Editorial Reviews

Insightful and creative...This book contributes to a deeper understanding of racism and to the development of a more inclusive, transformative individual, ecclesial and social praxis. Such a dialogue between theology and the broader fields of cultural studies will result in a deeper, more critical understanding of 'mestizaje' as a theological category.-Robert Goizueta,Professor of Theology, Boston College

From the Publisher

"Insightful and creative...This book contributes to a deeper understanding of racism and to the development of a more inclusive, transformative individual, ecclesial and social praxis. Such a dialogue between theology and the broader fields of cultural studies will result in a deeper, more critical understanding of 'mestizaje' as a theological category."

Robert Goizueta