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Find sources: "Womanist theology" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Part of a series on Feminism History Social Feminist history History of feminism Women-only space Women's history American British Canadian German Timelines Women's suffrage Muslim countries US Other women's rights Suffrage by country Australia Canada Japan Kuwait Liechtenstein New Zealand Spain (Civil War) Spain (Francoist) Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom Cayman Islands Wales United States In states Utah Waves First Second Third Fourth General variants Analytical Anarchist Anti-abortion Atheist Conservative Cultural Cyber Difference Ecofeminism Vegetarian Embedded Equality Eugenic Fat French French post-structuralist Global Hip-hop/Activism Individualist Labor Lesbian Radical lesbianism Liberal Equity Lipstick Materialist Maternal Multicultural Black Chicana Indigenous Kurdish (Jineology) Native American White Neofeminism Networked New Postcolonial Postfeminism Postmodern Post-structural Radical Separatist Sex-positive Socialist Marxist Social Standpoint State Transfeminism Transnational Victim Womanism Africana Religious variants Buddhist Christian Mormon Neopagan Dianic Wicca Reclaiming Hindu Islamic Jewish Orthodox Sikh Concepts Literature Children's literature Effects on society Equality Female education Female genital mutilation Femicide Feminism in culture Feminist movement African-American women's suffrage movement Art movement In hip hop Feminist stripper Gender equality Girl power Honor killing International Girl's Day and Women's Day Language reform Matriarchal religion Media Men in feminism Misogyny Oedipus complex Opposition to feminism Political lesbianism Lesbian separatism Pro-feminism Protofeminism Purplewashing Reproductive justice Sex workers' rights Sexual harassment Sexual objectification Theory in composition studies Triple oppression Violence against women War on women Women's health Women's rights Toxic masculinity Outlooks Criticism of marriage Views on BDSM Views on pornography Views on prostitution Views on sexual orientation Views on sexuality Views on transgender topics Theory Feminist method Gender studies Gender mainstreaming Gynocentrism Kyriarchy Male gaze Matriarchy Women's studies Men's studies Patriarchy Écriture féminine Areas of study anthropology archaeology architecture art art criticism literary criticism film theory biology composition studies criminology pathways perspective economics fpda geography international relations constructivism legal theory pedagogy philosophy aesthetics empiricism epistemology ethics justice ethics existentialism metaphysics science political ecology political theory pornography psychology revisionist mythology science fiction sex wars sexology sociology technoscience theology womanist theology By country Albania Australia Bangladesh Canada China Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Egypt Ethiopia Finland France Germany Ghana Greece Hong Kong India Indonesia Iran Iraq Republic of Ireland Israel Italy Japan Latin America Argentina Brazil Chile Haiti Honduras Mexico Paraguay Trinidad and Tobago Lebanon Malaysia Mali Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Northern Cyprus Norway Pakistan Philippines Poland Russia Syria Saudi Arabia South Africa South Korea Sweden Taiwan Thailand Turkey Vietnam Ukraine United Kingdom United States History of women Lists and categories Lists Articles Feminists by nationality Literature American feminist literature Feminist comic books Conservative feminisms Ecofeminist authors Feminist art critics Feminist economists Feminist philosophers Feminist poets Feminist rhetoricians Jewish feminists Muslim feminists Feminist parties Suffragists and suffragettes Women's rights activists Women's studies journals Women's suffrage organizations Categories Women's rights by country Feminists by nationality  Feminism portal v t e Womanist theology is a religious conceptual framework which reconsiders and revises the traditions, practices, scriptures, and biblical interpretation with a special lens to empower and liberate African-American women in America. Womanist theology associates with and departs from Feminist theology and Black theology specifically because it integrates the perspectives and experiences of African American and other women of color. The former's lack of attention to the everyday realities of women of color and the latter's lack of understanding of the full dimension of liberation from the unique oppressions of black women require bringing them together in Womanist Theology. The goals of womanist theology include interrogating the social construction of black womanhood in relation to the black community and to assume a liberatory perspective so African American women can live emboldened lives within the African American community and within the larger society. Some of its tasks are excavating the life stories of poor women of African descent in the church and to understanding the "languages" of black women.[1] Contents 1 Etymology 2 Development 3 Approaches to the Bible 4 See also 5 References 5.1 Footnotes 5.2 Bibliography 6 Further reading Etymology[edit] The term womanish was commonly used in Black daily language by mothers to describe adolescent daughters who act outrageous and grown-up, in contrast to girlish. Womanist was then developed in 1983 by black writer and activist Alice Walker in her collection of essays, In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose. In this text, she makes the point that "A Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender."[2] Hence, while womanist referred primarily to African-American women, it was also for women in general. Walker's works would have significant impact on later womanist theologians.[3] Development[edit] The roots of modern womanist theology grew out of the theology of James Hal Cone, Katie G. Cannon, Jacquelyn Grant, and Delores Williams. Cone developed black theology which sought to make sense out of theology from black experience in America. In his book A Black Theology of Liberation, Cone argued that "God is black" in an effort to demonstrate that God identifies with oppressed black Americans. Grant, a first-generation womanist theologian, argued that Cone did not attend to the fullness of black experience – specifically that of black women. She argued that the oppression of black women is different from that of black men. Grant pointed out that lower-class black women must navigate between the threefold oppression of racism, sexism, and classism in her books Womanist Theology and White Women's Christ and Black Women's Jesus: Feminist Christology and Womanist Response. For her, Jesus is a "divine co-sufferer" who suffered in his time like black women today. Grant concludes that black women are more oppressed and in need of further liberation than black men and especially white women. Delores Williams took the work of theologians such as Cone and Grant and expanded upon them. She suggested that womanist theologians need to "search for the voices, actions, opinions, experience, and faith" of black women in order to experience the God who "makes a way out of no way." She defines womanist in the following way: Womanist theology is a prophetic voice concerned about the well-being of the entire African-American community, male and female, adults and children. Womanist theology attempts to help black women see, affirm, and have confidence in the importance of their experience and faith for determining the character of the Christian religion in the African-American community. Womanist theology challenges all oppressive forces impeding black women's struggle for survival and for the development of a positive, productive quality of life conducive to women's and the family's freedom and well-being. Womanist theology opposes all oppression based on race, sex, class, sexual preference, physical ability, and caste.[4] Nyasha Junior was also one of the writers of womanist biblical interpretation, arguing in An Introduction to Womanist Biblical Interpretation that "womanist biblical interpretation [was] a natural development of African American women engaging in activism instead of simply [as] a response to second-wave feminism."[5] Approaches to the Bible[edit] Womanist theologians use a variety of methods to approach the scripture. Some attempt to find black women within the biblical narrative so as to reclaim the role and identity of black people in general, and black women specifically, within the Bible. Examples include the social ethicist Cheryl Sanders and the womanist theologian Karen Baker-Fletcher. Some approach the Bible "objectively" to critically evaluate text that degrades women and people of color and to offer an African-centered form, to resist male domination and bias, or what could be termed anti-women or androcentric attitudes and forms. Others draw on resources outside the Bible to enhance the plurality and cohesion of the texts along with our life experiences and reject scripture as a whole or part which is seen to serve male interest only. These methods are not separated and can be endorsed together.[citation needed] Patricia-Anne Johnson writes that "Renita J. Weems, a womanist professor and scholar of the Hebrew Bible, examines scripture as a world filled with women of color. Through the use of womanist imagination, Weems helps students to understand female roles, personalities, and woman-to-woman relationships during the time when the biblical texts were written."[6] Johnson, quoting further from Weems, also shows how Hagar and Esther can be seen as models of resistance for black women: "Womanism may be envisioned as a post-colonial discourse that allows African-American women to embrace a Jesus and a God free of the imperialism of white supremacy."[7] See also[edit] Christianity portal Feminism portal Asian feminist theology Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas Cheryl Townsend Gilkes Category:Womanist theologians Nyasha Junior References[edit] Footnotes[edit] ^ Mitchem 2002. ^ Walker 1983, p. xii. ^ Willis 2016. ^ Williams 1995, p. 67. ^ Brown, A. Lauren; deClaissé-Walford, Nancy L. (2017-02-01). "Book Review: Nyasha Junior. An Introduction to Womanist Biblical Interpretation:". Review & Expositor. doi:10.1177/0034637316689562g. ^ Johnson 2002, p. 203. ^ Johnson 2002, p. 205. Bibliography[edit] Johnson, Patricia-Anne (2002). "Womanist Theology as Counter-Narrative". In Ruether, Rosemary Radford (ed.). Gender, Ethnicity, and Religion: Views from the Other Side. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Fortress. pp. 197ff. ISBN 978-0-8006-3569-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) Mitchem, Stephanie Y. (2002). Introducing Womanist Theology. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books (published 2014). ISBN 978-1-60833-199-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) Walker, Alice (1983). In Search of our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. ISBN 978-0-15-144525-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) Williams, Delores S. (1995). Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-talk. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) Willis, Gladys J. (2016). Alice Walker's Influence on Womanist Theology. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4257-2061-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)[self-published source] Further reading[edit] Sweeney, Hyacinth (2000). "The Bible as a Tool For Growth for Black Women". Black Theology in Britain: A Journal of Contextual Praxis. 3 (5): 21–32. ISSN 1462-3161. Thomas, Linda E. (1998). "Womanist Theology, Epistemology, and a New Anthropological Paradigm". Cross Currents. Vol. 48 no. 4. Retrieved 25 November 2017. Riggs, Marcia, ed. (1997). Can I Get a Witness?: Prophetic Religious Voices of African American Women: An Anthology. New York: Orbis Books. 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Smith Marilyn Waring Lists Women's studies journals Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Womanist_theology&oldid=994678428" Categories: Liberation theology Multicultural feminism World Christianity Feminist theology Womanism Black feminism Hidden categories: Articles with a promotional tone from August 2018 All articles with a promotional tone Articles needing additional references from November 2017 All articles needing additional references All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2015 CS1 maint: ref=harv Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version Languages Add links This page was last edited on 16 December 2020, at 23:38 (UTC). 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