Representations of Homosexuality: Black Liberation Theology and Cultural Criticism (Black Religion/Womanist Thought/Social Justice)

Roger A. Sneed offers an alternative approach to black homosexuality for black religious scholars who have traditionally viewed homosexuality as a problem. Instead, by drawing on a range of black gay writers, Representations of Homosexuality points black religious scholarship towards an ethics of openness. Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction....Pages 1-21 Black Liberation Theology, Cultural Criticism, and the Problem of Homosexuality....Pages 23-52 Black Religious Criticism and Representations of Homosexuality....Pages 53-85 Black Theology and Homosexuality Revisited: Black Queer Theologians Respond....Pages 87-106 The Representations of Homosexuality in Black Gay Men’s Writing....Pages 107-132 Religious Experience in Black Gay Men’s Writings....Pages 133-156 Reconstructing Black Gay Male Identity beyond “The DL”....Pages 157-173 Conclusion: Toward an Ethics of Openness....Pages 175-192 Afterword....Pages 193-197 Back Matter....Pages 199-221 This book challenges black religious and cultural critics to rethink theological and ethical approaches to homosexuality. Sneed demonstrates how black liberation theology and has often characterized homosexuality as a problem to be solved, and his work here offers a different way for black religious scholars to approach black homosexuality and religious experiences. Drawing on a range of black gay writers from Essex Hemphill to J.L. King, Sneed identifies black gay men's literature as a rich source for theological and ethical reflection and points black religious scholarship toward an ethics of openness "This important work by Sneed challenges theologies that ground themselves in Black experience - Black and Womanist, to recognize that without the inclusion of the experience of gay Black men our work is incomplete. This book will add significantly to conversations about the future of Black and Womanist theologies."--Stephen G. Ray Jr., Professor of Systematic Theology and Neal and Ila Fisher Chair of Theology, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary