The Black Catholic Experience Critique - Research Paper Example

?Uncommon Faithfullnes: The Black Catholic Experience, is an indepth analysis of the faith and theological culture of black Catholics and different aspects of their contribution to Catholicism in the US. This book is also about the experiences of black Catholics in the country. The book has to be understood in the not so creditable backdrop of Catholic church directly and indirectly aligning with the social evil of slavery in the United States (Copeland, 2009, p.1). It has been observed by Copeland (2009) in the beginning of this book that the church in the days of slavery, “did accommodate slavocracy's prevailing culture and custom”1 (p.1). It was after the civil war was won by the Union that Vatican instructed the bishops in the US to bring into the fold of Catholic faith, all the black people who had been freed from slavery (Copeland, 2009, p.1). Even then, the US bishops were reluctant to do the same and they went on overtly and covertly protecting the slave system by not publicly disowning it (Copeland, 2009, p.1). This book is an eye-opener for those who would like to understand the evils of institutionalization of religion. How Christianity that is a religion based on compassion and love could be distorted to justify an act the most heinous of its kind, namely slavery, is well-depicted in this book (Copeland, 2009). This book also has evoked immense hope in Christianity as a religion, through showing how this faith system became an inspiration for the oppressed to regain their dignity through faith. Catholic faith became the source of energy for the black people who were struggling against slavery and trying hard to build a dignified space of their own in the US mainstream society (Copeland, 2009, p.1). Copeland (2009) called this brave and dedicated faithfullness of the black people by the name, “uncommon faithfulness” and hence the the title of the book (p.1). Copeland (2009) also reminded that this unique example of faithfulness has a history of 450 years documented from 16th century onwards and existing even before that period (p.1). Edited by Copeland (2009), this book is a collection of essays written by experts in the field. The book has as its objective, addressed “the issues that influence the present and future of black Catholic life” (Copeland, 2009, p.4). Some of the issues dealt with are, “the ageing Catholic clergy, the paucity of vocations to priesthood and religious life, financial shortfalls in dioceses, the closure of offices of black Catholic ministry, parish mergers, and the closing of Catholic schools in urban areas”2 (Copeland, 2009, p.4). The book is divided into three parts- part 1 deals with history, 2nd part with theological and ethical concerns and the 3rd part with pastoral matters and also has 15 contributing writers (Copeland, 2009). The editor of the book, M. Shawn Copeland is a theology professor at Boston college and had also held the position, the president of the Catholic Theological Society of America (Taylor-Camara, 2010, p.246). The first part of the book has traced the history of black Catholic movement, and detailed its current movement, aspirations and future directions (Copeland, 2009). The second part has linked black cultural identity and expressions with matters of faith and suffering and has given special attention to the gender angle involved (Copeland, 2009). The third part of this book has addressed the demand for new modes of pastoral discourses suggesting the need for “effective culturally and spiritually appropriate ministry from the church” for groups like Catholic immigrants (Copeland, 2009, p.9). Presenting “four models of relating religion and race”3, Raboteau (2009) has in his article in this book, traced the history of the unholy nexus between slavery and Catholic church in the US, during the era of slavery (p.10-12). Why the white and mainstream Christian community viewed black Christianity as a threat is explained by Raboteau (2009, p.11). The interpretation of the human values inherent to Christianity in favour of their freedom by the black Christian community, was viewed with great apprehension by the white lobby that wanted to sustain slavery (Raboteau, 2009, p.11-12). This is the crucial fact about Christianity that led to the phenomenon of the oppressed adopting the value system of the oppressor and validly re-interpreting it to justify their right to freedom. Each and every story and imagery in Bible became thus applicable to define the suffering of the black people, and the pro-slavey camp could just look on being unable to justify slavery that was evidently against the ethos of their vry value system, that is, Christianity. Raboteau (2009) gave examples like the story of exodus which became “an archetypical myth” for the freedom-aspiring black people (p.13). On the other hand, the articles in this book have also shown how the black Catholic theology changed the mainstrean white church as well towards a better understanding of Christianity (Copeland, 2009, p.5). Sanders (2009) in her article has shown how and to what extent, the black catholic clergy contributed to the freedom struggle of the black people (p.90). Discussing the theological and ethical underpinnings of the black Catholic church, M. Shawn Copeland (2009a) has depicted in a chapter in this book, how a black theology emerged out of faith and the struggle to keep the right of faith (p.97-107). Jamie T. Phelps O.P. (2009) has stressed upon the social transformation that Catholicist theology brought into the black community and shown how Catholic values became an eternal inspiration for the black people in their times of test (p.115-128). Taylor-Camara (2010) has reviewed this book and observed, “Uncommon Faithfullness defines faith as a high price paid for in kind, by the perseverance and steadfastness of men and women whose vision of God was realized by the mission they embarked upon with little or no recognition and yet lived in hope” (p.246). This review has commended Copeland (2009) for revealing how the Catholic clergy engaged in keeping slaves and also defending the practice (p.247). The act of connecting the music genre 'blues' with black Catholic theology by Copeland (2009) in an attempt to equate the suffering of the people with the suffering of Christ, is also lauded by Taylor-Camara (p.247). Throughout this book, a correlation is visible between the path traversed by Christ and the black people (Copeland, 2009). Both had to endure great suffering but both marched with immense faith towards victory. This is why, following the Biblical imagery, the African American people came to be called by the black liberation movement as the “chosen children of God” (Raboteau, 2009, p.12). Similarly, the resurrection of Jesus Christ became yet another story of self-realization for the black people (Massingale, 2009, p.159). The womanist theology put forth by this book has special relevance in the modern world where gender sensitivity is a priority concern. The article written by Hayes (2009) dealt with womanist theology and declared that “womanist theology seeks to bring the presence and activity of black women to the forefront, rather than the background, of the church's awareness and dialogue” (p.136). Pointing to the “dualist thinking” that is seen in Christianity, allowing oppression and injustice in certain instances, Reed-Bouley (2012) has referred to the article of Hayes (2009, p.178-189). Reed-Bouley (2012) after going through this article and similar works has concluded that antiracist theological education can be an effective tool to pursue the struggle for justice. Black (2011) has drawn attention to the historical relevance of this book saying that “popular historical record” has sometimes ignored the contributions of black Catholicism and this book is an attemtp to rectify this (p.110). She (Black, 2011) has also reminded that the perspective put forth by this book can be viewed as an “alternative to the usual narrative of American history in general and American Catholicism in particular”4 (p.110). The effort made through this book to make the African American experience of Catholicism a part of the American Catholic mainstream has been pointed out by Black (2011, p.110). Black (2011) has also raised some genuine criticism of the approach in this book. She (Black, 2011) has questioned the conceptualisation of black Catholic experience as a monolithic experiential category, saying that the diversity reflected in the different articles in the book itself is proof to the multiplicity involved (p.110). This is a criticism that can be developed to incorporate the contemporary realities of manifold diversity in experience brought about by globalization. By adopting this criticism as a starting point, one can analyse religion and community-experiences of religion within the complex contemporary world. Keenan (2012) has pointed to the way Copeland (2009) in an article in this book, equated the black theologian with the blues musician, observing that both pick up human suffering, respond to it, and give it back to the community with a sense of communion with God. This observation is made acknowledging the radical nature of the discourse being made by Copeland (2009), who has in this book edited by her, put forth a new womanist, and humanist discourse of Catholicism (Keenan, 2012). The overall nature of this book has, as its undercurrent, a womanist and humanist perspective. Here, one can draw a correlation between white supremacy and patriarchy. Women themselves being an oppressed group in the prevailing patriarchal society, it is possible that they could have better capacity to understand the suffering of the other oppressed groups. In a triangle that has in its three pivotal points, christ, the black people and women, one can see a 'pedagogy of the oppressed' emerging. It is no coincidence that most of the contributors to this book are women. The wide gap in history of black women's stories and narratives have been attributed by Hayes (2009) to the inability and lack of interest of black women to “recover” the same (p.134). To conclude, this book has the ability to become a new paradigm for both Catholic as well as non-Catholics in understanding religion in connection with humanism and justice. This book can also function as a reminder to the vices of institutionalization of religion that has happened in history and is continuing till date. Institutionalized religion is bound to establish a link with the dominant ideology in a society, and this is what the experiences of black Catholics in the US reveal to the world. References Copeland, S.M. (2009), Introduction, In S.M. Copeland (Ed.), Uncommon faithfullness: The black Catholic experience (p.1-8). New York: Orbis Books. Copeland, S. M. (2009a) Theology at the crossroads, In S.M. Copeland (Ed.), Uncommon faithfullness: The black Catholic experience (p.97-107). New York: Orbis Books. Hayes, D.L. (2009), Faith of our mothers, In S.M. Copeland (Ed.), Uncommon faithfullness: The black Catholic experience (p.115-128). New York: Orbis Books. Keenan, J.F. (2012), Living the truth: Fundamental theological ethics, Theological Studies, Retrieved from http://www.readperiodicals.com/201203/2594689761.html Massingale, B.N. (2009), HIV/AIDS and the bodies of black peoples, In S.M. Copeland (Ed.), Uncommon faithfullness: The black Catholic experience (p.115-128). New York: Orbis Books. Phelps O.P., J.T. (2009), Communion ecclesiology, In S.M. Copeland (Ed.), Uncommon faithfullness: The black Catholic experience (p.115-128). New York: Orbis Books. Raboteau, A.J. (2009), Relating race and religion, In S.M. Copeland (Ed.), Uncommon faithfullness: The black Catholic experience (p.9-25). New York: Orbis Books. Reed-Bouley, J. (2012), Antiracist theological education as a site of struggle for justice, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, 28 (1), pp.178-189. Sanders, K.M. (2009), Black Catholic clergy and the struggle for civil rights, In S.M. Copeland (Ed.), Uncommon faithfullness: The black Catholic experience (p.78-96). New York: Orbis Books. Taylor-Camara, C. (2010), Book review, Black Theology: An International Journal, 8 (2), pp.246-248. Read More