User:ACT1865/Womanist theology

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Womanist theology is a methodological approach to theology which centers the experience and perspectives of Black women, particularly African American women. The first generation of womanist theologians and ethicists began writing in the mid to late 1980s, and the field has since expanded significantly. The term has its roots in Alice Walker's writings on womanism. "Womanist theology" was first used in an article in 1987 by Dr. Delores Williams. Within Christian theological discourse, Womanist theology emerged as a corrective to early feminist theology written by white feminists that did not address the impact of race on women's lives, or take into account the realities faced by Black women within the United States. Similarly, womanist theologians highlighted the ways in which Black theology, written predominantly by male theologians, failed to consider the perspectives and insights of Black women. According to Emilie Townes, womanist theology must also take seriously the intersection of class, as well as race and gender. Scholars who espouse womanist theology are not monolithic nor do they adopt each aspect of Walker's definition. Yet, these scholars often find kinship in their anti-sexist, antiracist and anti-classist commitments to feminist and liberation theologies.

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.

My Edits

 * Added citations to opening sentences
 * Womanist theology emerged as an anti-sexist, antiracist and anti-classist approach to feminist theology and liberation theology. See Emilie Townes, pg.
 * Add citation to this under Development section: Kelly Brown Douglas authored The Black Christ in 1995, building on Grant's earlier work. In the text, Douglas calls on womanist theology to speak to the concerns of people outside the church as well as those within.
 * Added paragraph below

The Critiques (perhaps after the "Biblical Interpretation" section)
Womanist theology has undergone an evolution due to its critiques that have happened in new waves in recent years. Womanist theology has expanded to encompass the spiritual, social, and political concerns of those who do not identify as black Christian women. . As it is that not all white female religious scholars are feminists, and not all black female religious scholars are womanists. Christian and Christocentric underpinnings provided the framework for early womanist thought. Monica A. Coleman challenges womanists who claim the title and theological purview that is rooted in Walker's definition, yet do not allow it to reach beyond non-Christians as faulty and a failure to do what it was created to accomplish. Coleman, Traci West, and other Black religious scholars have expressed their preference for the designation of "black feminist" due to the history of womanist scholarship being marked by heterosexism and homophobia.

Womanist religious scholars have verbalized the challenges that come with identifying as a womanist in the academy. Nyasha Junior has written about the problematic assumptions that come with being labeled as a womanist scholar, and how one does not have to identify as such in order to do Womanist theology. . There are black feminists and womanist scholars who believe that their time would be better given to making contributions in the field and with communities that are being marginalized as opposed to being preoccupied with whether one is properly self-identifying.