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| sexuality and the black church: Sexuality and the Black Church Douglas, Kelly Brown, 2018-09-26 |
| sexuality and the black church: The Sexual Politics of Black Churches Josef Sorett, 2022-02-08 Winner, 2022-2023 Virginia Ramey Mollenkott Award for chapter 5 Everybody Knew He Was 'That Way': Chicago’s Clarence H. Cobbs, American Religion, and Sexuality during the Post-World War II Period by Wallace Best This book brings together an interdisciplinary roster of scholars and practitioners to analyze the politics of sexuality within Black churches and the communities they serve. In essays and conversations, leading writers reflect on how Black churches have participated in recent discussions about issues such as marriage equality, reproductive justice, and transgender visibility in American society. They consider the varied ways that Black people and groups negotiate the intersections of religion, race, gender, and sexuality across historical and contemporary settings. Individually and collectively, the pieces included in this book shed light on the relationship between the cultural politics of Black churches and the broader cultural and political terrain of the United States. Contributors examine how churches and their members participate in the formal processes of electoral politics as well as how they engage in other processes of social and cultural change. They highlight how contemporary debates around marriage, gender, and sexuality are deeply informed by religious beliefs and practices. Through a critically engaged interdisciplinary investigation, The Sexual Politics of Black Churches develops an array of new perspectives on religion, race, and sexuality in American culture. |
| sexuality and the black church: Homophobia in the Black Church Anthony Stanford, 2013-03-14 This book explains how faith, politics, and fear contribute to the homophobic mindset within the Black Church and the African American community. Homophobia in the Black Church: How Faith, Politics, and Fear Divide the Black Community explores the various reasons for the Black Church's aversion—and the general black cultural inflexibility—toward homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and acceptance of the LGBT community. It connects black cultural resistance toward homosexuality to politics, faith, and fear; follows the trail of faith-based funding to the pulpit of black mega-churches; and spotlights how members of the black clergy have sacrificed black LGBTQ Christians for personal and political advancement. The author systematically builds his case, linking the reasons blacks are intolerant of deviation from acceptable sexual behavior to the 1960s struggle for racial equality, and tying longstanding black sexual mores to present day politics, social conservatism, and the lure of federal funding to black churches and religious and social organizations. He also spotlights specific homophobic black ministers and draws back the curtain on their alliance with White social conservatives and religious and political extremists to reveal an improbable but powerful union. |
| sexuality and the black church: Passionate and Pious Monique Moultrie, 2017-12-11 In Passionate and Pious Monique Moultrie explores the impact of faith-based sexual ministries on black women's sexual agency to trace how these women navigate sexuality, religious authority, and their spiritual walk with God. Providing churchwomen a space to candidly discuss these issues, these popular ministries exist largely beyond the traditional church, with dialogues about sex taking place in chat rooms and through text messages, social media, email, and other media. Moultrie foregrounds televangelist Juanita Bynum's construction of the black Christian sexual identity these ministries promote while emphasizing how churchwomen reconcile these prescriptive identities with their individual experiences. What does it mean for senior women to exercise sexual agency when their church standing could be questioned? What does celibacy mean for women who experience same-sex desire while believing that such desire goes against God's will? Advancing a womanist sexual ethics, Moultrie reframes biblical interpretations and conceptions of what constitutes a healthy relationship to provide a basis for sexual decision making that does not privilege monogamy or deny female pleasure, thereby calling on black churchwomen to experience responsible and life-enhancing sex. |
| sexuality and the black church: Loving the Body D. Hopkins, 2004-12-09 In this book, contributors argue that the Black Church must begin to address the significance of sexuality if it is to actually present liberation as a mode of existence that fully appreciates the body. The contributors argue that we not only have to look at the Black Church in this discussion, but also explore black Christianity in general. |
| sexuality and the black church: Sexuality and the Black Church: a Womanist Perspective 25th Anniversary Edition Kelly Brown Douglas, 2025-04-28 This book tackles the taboo subject of sexuality that has long been avoided by the Black church and community. Douglas argues that this view of Black sexuality has interfered with constructive responses to the AIDS crisis and teenage pregnancies, fostered intolerance of sexual diversity, frustrated healthy male/female relationship, and rendered black and womanist theologians silent on sexual issues. |
| sexuality and the black church: The Divided Mind of the Black Church Raphael G. Warnock, 2020-11-03 A revealing look at the identity and mission of the Black church What is the true nature and mission of the church? Is its proper Christian purpose to save souls, or to transform the social order? This question is especially fraught when the church is one built by an enslaved people and formed, from its beginning, at the center of an oppressed community’s fight for personhood and freedom. Such is the central tension in the identity and mission of the Black church in the United States. For decades the Black church and Black theology have held each other at arm’s length. Black theology has emphasized the role of Christian faith in addressing racism and other forms of oppression, arguing that Jesus urged his disciples to seek the freedom of all peoples. Meanwhile, the Black church, even when focused on social concerns, has often emphasized personal piety rather than social protest. With the rising influence of white evangelicalism, biblical fundamentalism, and the prosperity gospel, the divide has become even more pronounced. In The Divided Mind of the Black Church, Raphael G. Warnock, Senior Pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, the spiritual home of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., traces the historical significance of the rise and development of Black theology as an important conversation partner for the Black church. Calling for honest dialogue between Black and womanist theologians and Black pastors, this fresh theological treatment demands a new look at the church’s essential mission. |
| sexuality and the black church: The Dinah Project Monica A. Coleman, 2010-04-01 Sexual violence is rarely discussed in church, despite the rising incidents of rape, sexual assault, molestation and incest. The Dinah Project, which gets its name from Genesis 34 - the rape of Dinah, Jacob's daughter - was borne out of the author's decision to start healing through the church after being raped. The result is this book and an entire ministry program to assist churches in responding to sexual violence. The Dinah Project describes programmatic ways in which a local church can respond to the crisis of sexual violence in the community. By sharing the lessons of one church, this book proposes detailed methods for instituting a church program. The Dinah Project provides church activities ranging from providing resources for members to ways to organize a full-time church ministry, and many stages in between. Topics include planning worship services, conducting community education workshops, working with local agencies, establishing a board of directors and holding therapy groups at the church. With checklists, forms and detailed explanations, this user-friendly book guides any interested individual from basic information about sexual violence to tips on budgeting for programs. |
| sexuality and the black church: Plenty Good Room Marcia Y. Riggs, 2008-12-01 I offer this book as an outgrowth of my faith journey in the African American Church and as an ethicist who is deeply concerned about the distorted relationship between the professed theological and ethical beliefs and moral practices with respect to gender in that church. I am concerned with the way that we interpret our beliefs about justice in particular in order to match our sexual gender oppressive practices while maintaining that we received such interpretation by way of the Bible and/or church tradition. - Marcia Y. Riggs In Plenty Good Room: Women Versus Male Power in the Black Church, Riggs discusses African American church life as a case study for ethical reflection about sexual ethics and clergy ethics - the prevailing silence about sexuality in the black church as well as the fact that sexuality is generally a taboo in the Christian tradition. The author feels that sexism has been perpetrated by misuse of the Scriptures and by circumscribing the role of women, and seeks to transform current discourse about sexual behavior and clergy misconduct from a concentration on formulating policy to re-train. Riggs offers both descriptive analysis and normative proposals for transforming the moral life of the African American church - the way of being and doing characteristic of the African American church - in the areas of: · Sexual-gender relations · Clergy ethics · Ministerial ethics · Ecclesial practices Riggs begins each chapter with a scenario and ends each chapter with dialogue questions for further group reflection. |
| sexuality and the black church: Wake Up! Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Marlon Hall, 2011 For the Church to influence and impact the spirituality of today 's under-30 crowd, it must take Hip Hop seriously. |
| sexuality and the black church: The Black Christ Douglas, Kelly Brown, 2019-04-24 In this classic work, first published in 1994, Kelly Brown Douglas offers a compelling portrait of who Jesus is for the Black community. Beginning with the early testimonies of the enslaved, through the writings and thought of religious and literary figures, voices from the Civil Rights and Black Power era, including Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X, up through the contemporary work of Black and Womanist theologians, Douglas presents a living tradition that speaks powerfully to the message of our day: Black Lives Matter. |
| sexuality and the black church: Shameless Nadia Bolz-Weber, 2019-01-29 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Raw, intimate, and timely—a no-holds-barred celebration of our bodies that flies in the face of antiquated ideas about sex and gender. “A triumph.”—Glennon Doyle • “One of the most important, life-changing books I’ve ever read.”—Rachel Held Evans, author of Searching for Sunday and Inspired Negative messages about sex come from all corners of society: from the church, from the media, from our own families. As a result, countless people have suffered pain, guilt, and judgment. In this instant bestseller, Nadia Bolz-Weber unleashes her critical eye and her vulnerable yet hopeful soul on the harmful conversations about sex that have fed our shame. Bolz-Weber offers no simple amendments or polite compromises. Instead, this modern-day reverend calls for an inclusivity that empowers us to be loyal to people and, perhaps most important, ourselves. “Christianity is not a program for avoiding mistakes,” she writes. “It is a faith of the guilty.” With an alternative understanding of Scripture passages that have been weaponized against Christians for decades, Bolz-Weber reminds us that sexual flourishing can and should be for all genders, all bodies, and all humans. She shares stories, poetry, and Scripture that wage war on perpetual anxiety around sex by celebrating sexuality in all its forms and recognizing it for the gift that it is. If you’ve been mistreated, confused, angered, and/or wounded by shaming sexual messages, this one is for you. |
| sexuality and the black church: Red Lip Theology Candice Marie Benbow, 2022-01-18 A moving essay collection promoting freedom, self-love, and divine wholeness for Black women and opening new levels of understanding and ideological transformation for non-Black women and allies “Candice Marie Benbow is a once-in-a-generation theologian, the kind who, having ground dogma into dust with the fine point of a stiletto, leads us into the wide-open spaces of faith.”—Brittney Cooper, author of Eloquent Rage and co-editor of The Crunk Feminist Collection Blurring the boundaries of righteous and irreverent, Red Lip Theology invites us to discover freedom in a progressive Christian faith that incorporates activism, feminism, and radical authenticity. Essayist and theologian Candice Marie Benbow’s essays explore universal themes like heartache, loss, forgiveness, and sexuality, and she unflinchingly empowers women who struggle with feeling loved and nurtured by church culture. Benbow writes powerfully about experiences at the heart of her Black womanhood. In honoring her single mother’s love and triumphs—and mourning her unexpected passing—she finds herself forced to shed restrictions she’d been taught to place on her faith practice. And by embracing alternative spirituality and womanist theology, and confronting staid attitudes on body positivity and LGBTQ+ rights, Benbow challenges religious institutions, faith leaders, and communities to reimagine how faith can be a tool of liberation and transformation for women and girls. |
| sexuality and the black church: The Oxford Handbook of Theology, Sexuality, and Gender Adrian Thatcher, 2014-11-13 The Oxford Handbook of Theology, Sexuality, and Gender presents an unrivalled overview of the theological study of sexuality and gender. Not merely contentious and pervasive topics, sexuality and gender have escalated in importance within theology. Theologians increasingly agree that even the very doctrine of God cannot be contemplated without a prior grappling with each. Featuring 41 newly-commissioned essays, written by the foremost scholars in the discipline, this authoritative collection presents and develops the latest thinking in the area. Divided into eight thematic sections, the Handbook explores key methodological approaches, concepts, and issues, as well as current controversies within various denominations. Selected essays draw on reason as a distinct source of theology, discussing evolutionary biology and behavioural genetics, psychology, anthropological research, philosophical research, and queer theory. It examines the history of in theologies of sexuality and gender, with close analysis of the Bible and the Christian tradition. The final section considers theology in relation to different expressions of sexual identities. This volume is an essential reference for students and scholars, which will also stimulate further research. |
| sexuality and the black church: On the Down Low J.L. King, Karen Hunter, 2005-04-05 A bold exposé of the controversial secret that has potentially dire consequences in many African American communities. Delivering the first frank and thorough investigation of life “on the down low” (the DL), J. L. King exposes a closeted culture of sex between black men who lead “straight” lives. King explores his own past as a DL man, and the path that led him to let go of the lies and bring forth a message that can promote emotional healing and open discussions about relationships, sex, sexuality, and health in the black community. Providing a long-overdue wake-up call, J. L. King bravely puts the spotlight on a topic that has until now remained dangerously taboo. Drawn from hundreds of interviews, statistics, and the author’s firsthand knowledge of DL behavior, On the Down Low reveals the warning signs African American women need to know. King also discusses the potential health consequences of having unprotected sex, as African American women represent an alarming 64 percent of new HIV infections. Volatile yet vital, On the Down Low is sure to be one of the most talked-about books of the year. “A survey by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta found that nearly a quarter of black HIV-positive men who had sex with men consider themselves heterosexual.” —Essence |
| sexuality and the black church: Their Own Receive Them Not Horace L. Griffin, 2010-11-01 In Their Own Receive Them Not, Griffin provides a historical overview and critical analysis of the black church and its current engagement with lesbian and gay Christians, and shares ways in which black churches can learn to reach out and confront all types of oppression--not just race--in order to do the work of the black community. |
| sexuality and the black church: Black Church Studies Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas, 2007 Religious Studies Over the last thirty years African American voices and perspectives have become essential to the study of the various theological disciplines. Writing out of their particular position in the North American context, African American thinkers have contributed significantly to biblical studies, theology, church history, ethics, sociology of religion, homiletics, pastoral care, and a number of other fields. Frequently the work of these African American scholars is brought together in the seminary curriculum under the rubric of the black church studies class. Drawing on these several disciplines, the black church studies class seeks to give an account of the broad meaning of Christian faith in the African American experience. Up to now, however, there has not been a single, comprehensive textbook designed to meet the needs of students and instructors in these classes. Black Church Studies: An Introduction will meet that need. Drawing on the work of specialists in several fields, it introduces all of the core theological disciplines from an African American standpoint, from African American biblical interpretation to womanist theology and and ethics to sociological understandings of the life of African American churches. It will become an indispensable resource for all those preparing to serve in African American congregations, or to understand African American contributions to the study of Christian faith. Looks at the diverse definitions and functions of the Black Church as well as the ways in which race, class, religion, and gender inform its evolution. Provides a comprehensive view of the contributions of African American Scholarship to the current theological discussion. Written by scholars with broad expertise in a number of subject areas and disciplines. Will enable the reader to relate the work of African American theological scholars to the tasks of preaching, teaching, and leading in local congregations. Will provide the reader the most comprehensive understanding of African American theological scholarship available in one volume. Stacey Floyd-Thomas, Brite Divinity School Juan Floyd-Thomas, Texas Christian University Carol B. Duncan, Wilfrid Laurier University Stephen G. Ray Jr., Lutheran Theological Seminary-Philadelphia Nancy Lynne Westfield, Drew University Theology/Theology and Doctrine/Contemporary Theology |
| sexuality and the black church: Sexuality and the Christian Body Eugene F. Rogers, Jr., 1999-08-25 God and the Body addresses the challenges to traditional Christianity by gay and lesbian Christians and their critics within the church. This controversial book will be welcomed for the radical new insights it provides into Christian arguments about the body. |
| sexuality and the black church: AIDS, Sexuality, and the Black Church Angelique C. Harris, Angelique Harris, 2010 A revealing account of AIDS activism within Black churches in New York City. (Back cover). |
| sexuality and the black church: Sexuality and the Black Church Kelly Brown Douglas, 1999 This book tackles the taboo subject of sexuality that has long been avoided by the Black church and community. Douglas argues that this view of Black sexuality has interfered with constructive responses to the AIDS crisis and teenage pregnancies, fostered intolerance of sexual diversity, frustrated healthy male/female relationships, and rendered Black and womanist theologians silent on sexual issues. |
| sexuality and the black church: The Black Church Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 2021-02-16 The instant New York Times bestseller and companion book to the PBS series. “Absolutely brilliant . . . A necessary and moving work.” —Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., author of Begin Again “Engaging. . . . In Gates’s telling, the Black church shines bright even as the nation itself moves uncertainly through the gloaming, seeking justice on earth—as it is in heaven.” —Jon Meacham, New York Times Book Review From the New York Times bestselling author of Stony the Road and The Black Box, and one of our most important voices on the African American experience, comes a powerful new history of the Black church as a foundation of Black life and a driving force in the larger freedom struggle in America. For the young Henry Louis Gates, Jr., growing up in a small, residentially segregated West Virginia town, the church was a center of gravity—an intimate place where voices rose up in song and neighbors gathered to celebrate life's blessings and offer comfort amid its trials and tribulations. In this tender and expansive reckoning with the meaning of the Black Church in America, Gates takes us on a journey spanning more than five centuries, from the intersection of Christianity and the transatlantic slave trade to today’s political landscape. At road’s end, and after Gates’s distinctive meditation on the churches of his childhood, we emerge with a new understanding of the importance of African American religion to the larger national narrative—as a center of resistance to slavery and white supremacy, as a magnet for political mobilization, as an incubator of musical and oratorical talent that would transform the culture, and as a crucible for working through the Black community’s most critical personal and social issues. In a country that has historically afforded its citizens from the African diaspora tragically few safe spaces, the Black Church has always been more than a sanctuary. This fact was never lost on white supremacists: from the earliest days of slavery, when enslaved people were allowed to worship at all, their meetinghouses were subject to surveillance and destruction. Long after slavery’s formal eradication, church burnings and bombings by anti-Black racists continued, a hallmark of the violent effort to suppress the African American struggle for equality. The past often isn’t even past—Dylann Roof committed his slaughter in the Mother Emanuel AME Church 193 years after it was first burned down by white citizens of Charleston, South Carolina, following a thwarted slave rebellion. But as Gates brilliantly shows, the Black church has never been only one thing. Its story lies at the heart of the Black political struggle, and it has produced many of the Black community’s most notable leaders. At the same time, some churches and denominations have eschewed political engagement and exemplified practices of exclusion and intolerance that have caused polarization and pain. Those tensions remain today, as a rising generation demands freedom and dignity for all within and beyond their communities, regardless of race, sex, or gender. Still, as a source of faith and refuge, spiritual sustenance and struggle against society’s darkest forces, the Black Church has been central, as this enthralling history makes vividly clear. |
| sexuality and the black church: Black Practical Theology Dale P. Andrews, Robert London Smith, 2015 Black Practical Theology is a gift to both teacher and student. |
| sexuality and the black church: Unbought and Unbossed Trimiko Melancon, 2014-11-28 Unbought and Unbossed critically examines the ways black women writers in the 1970s and early 1980s deploy black female characters that transgress racial, gender, and especially sexual boundaries. Trimiko Melancon analyzes literary and cultural texts, including Toni Morrison’s Sula and Gloria Naylor’s The Women of Brewster Place, in the socio-cultural and historical moments of their production. She shows how representations of black women in the American literary and cultural imagination diverge from stereotypes and constructions of “whiteness,” as well as constructions of female identity imposed by black nationalism. Drawing from black feminist and critical race theories, historical discourses on gender and sexuality, and literary criticism, Melancon explores the variety and complexity of black female identity. She illuminates how authors including Ann Allen Shockley, Alice Walker, and Gayl Jones engage issues of desire, intimacy, and independence to shed light on a more complex black identity, one ungoverned by rigid politics over-determined by race, gender and sexuality. |
| sexuality and the black church: Theology and Sexuality Eugene F. Rogers, Jr., 2002-02-01 This much-needed volume draws on a wide range of resources and some of the freshest talent in the field to examine debates about theology and sexuality. Material is drawn from a variety of ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary texts to provide readers with a broad perspective on the issues discussed. |
| sexuality and the black church: A Lily Among the Thorns Miguel A. De La Torre, 2007-07-20 A new way for Christians to think about sexuality Author Miguel De La Torre, a well-respected ethicist and professorknown for his innovative readings of Christian doctrine, rejectsboth the liberal and conservative prejudices about sex. He insteaddevelops an ethic that is liberative yet grounded soundly in theBible; a sexuality that celebrates God’s gift of great sex byfostering intimacy, vulnerability and openness between lovingpartners. In A Lily Among the Thorns, De La Torre examines theBible, current events, history and our culture-at-large to show howand why racism, sexism, and classism have distortedChristianity’s central teachings about sexuality. The authorshows how the church’s traditionally negative attitudestoward sex in general—and toward women, people of color, andgays in particular—have made it difficult, if not impossible,to create a biblically based and just sexual ethic. But when theBible is read from the viewpoint of those who have beenmarginalized in our society, preconceived notions aboutChristianity and sex get turned on their heads. Taking onhot-button topics such as pornography, homosexuality, prostitution,and celibacy, the author examines how “reading from themargins” provides a liberating approach to dealing withissues of sexuality. |
| sexuality and the black church: Why Churches Need to Talk about Sexuality Mark Wingfield, 2019-12-03 Journalist and pastor Mark Wingfield describes how the congregation he serves undertook a detailed study of how the church should respond to the inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender members. The study was conducted by a nineteen-member blue-ribbon task force that included wide representation of the church's various constituencies. The author served as a staff liaison, recording secretary, and resource to the study group, keeping meticulous notes of the process and the aftermath of the study. Why Churches Need to Talk about Sexuality is written for clergy and lay leaders in Protestant congregations of all kinds who need a helpful guide to conversations about human sexuality within congregations. The book also has in mind anyone who wants to understand the controversial debates about human sexuality and the Christian church today and who desire to follow a process to discuss the topic and make decisions about how congregations and individuals will respond to matters of ministry and sexuality. This book not only details the process used at Wilshire but also tells the human story of why the study was undertaken and what happened to the lives and faith of real people inside and outside the church. The author's hope is to provide a resource to other clergy and church leaders to understand why this issue must be addressed, how difficult it is to address, and what to expect along the way. As the title indicates, even though this is a difficult conversation to have, churches must have the conversation anyway. |
| sexuality and the black church: Rainbow Theology Patrick S. Cheng, 2013-04-01 To date, no book has systematically examined the theological writings of LGBT people of color. Nor has any book explored how such writings might actually transform contemporary theological reflections on race and sexuality. This book remedies these gaps by constructing a rainbow theology around the theme of bridging or mediation. Rainbow Theology is the first book to reflect upon the theological significance of the intersections of race and queer sexuality across multiple ethnic and cultural groups. This is particularly important in light of the current polarizing debates over issues of race, sexuality, and religion within churches and communities of faith around the world. |
| sexuality and the black church: The Secret Lives of Church Ladies Deesha Philyaw, 2023-06 |
| sexuality and the black church: Sexuality and the Sacred, Second Edition Marvin M. Ellison, Kelly Brown Douglas, 2010-09-21 Christian discourse on sexuality, spirituality, and ethics has continued to evolve since this book's first edition was published in 1994. This updated and expanded anthology featuring more than thirty contemporary essays includes more theologians and ethicists of color and addresses issues such as the intersection of race/racism and sexuality, transgender identity, same-sex marriage, and reproductive health and justice. |
| sexuality and the black church: Black Sexual Politics Patricia Hill Collins, 2004-08-02 In Black Sexual Politics, one of America's most influential writers on race and gender explores how images of Black sexuality have been used to maintain the color line and how they threaten to spread a new brand of racism around the world today. |
| sexuality and the black church: Stand Your Ground Kelly Brown Douglas, 2015 If Trayvon was of age and armed, could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk?”--President Barack Obama. On the Sunday morning after the acquittal of Trayvon Martin's killer, black preachers across America addressed the questions his death raised for their communities: “Where is the justice of God? What are we to hope for?” In this timely and compelling book, Kelly Brown Douglas examines the myths and narratives underlying a “stand-your-ground” culture, taking seriously the social as well as the theological questions raised by this and similar events, from Ferguson, Missouri to Staten Island, New York. But the author also brings another significant interpretative lens to this text: that of a mother. She writes: “There has been no story in the news that has troubled me more than that of Trayvon Martin's slaying. President Obama said that if he had a son his son would look like Trayvon. I do have a son and he does look like Trayvon.” In the face of tragedy and indifference, Kelly Brown Douglas arms the truth of a black mother's faith in these times of “stand your ground.” (Publisher). |
| sexuality and the black church: God Is Not Great Christopher Hitchens, 2008-11-19 Christopher Hitchens, described in the London Observer as “one of the most prolific, as well as brilliant, journalists of our time” takes on his biggest subject yet–the increasingly dangerous role of religion in the world. In the tradition of Bertrand Russell’s Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris’s bestseller The End Of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos. With eloquent clarity, Hitchens frames the argument for a more secular life based on science and reason, in which hell is replaced by the Hubble Telescope’s awesome view of the universe, and Moses and the burning bush give way to the beauty and symmetry of the double helix. |
| sexuality and the black church: Soul Searching Christian Smith, Melina Lundquist Denton, 2009-04-13 In innumerable discussions and activities dedicated to better understanding and helping teenagers, one aspect of teenage life is curiously overlooked. Very few such efforts pay serious attention to the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of American adolescents. But many teenagers are very involved in religion. Surveys reveal that 35% attend religious services weekly and another 15% attend at least monthly. 60% say that religious faith is important in their lives. 40% report that they pray daily. 25% say that they have been born again. Teenagers feel good about the congregations they belong to. Some say that faith provides them with guidance and resources for knowing how to live well. What is going on in the religious and spiritual lives of American teenagers? What do they actually believe? What religious practices do they engage in? Do they expect to remain loyal to the faith of their parents? Or are they abandoning traditional religious institutions in search of a new, more authentic spirituality? This book attempts to answer these and related questions as definitively as possible. It reports the findings of The National Study of Youth and Religion, the largest and most detailed such study ever undertaken. The NYSR conducted a nationwide telephone survey of teens and significant caregivers, as well as nearly 300 in-depth face-to-face interviews with a sample of the population that was surveyed. The results show that religion and spirituality are indeed very significant in the lives of many American teenagers. Among many other discoveries, they find that teenagers are far more influenced by the religious beliefs and practices of their parents and caregivers than commonly thought. They refute the conventional wisdom that teens are spiritual but not religious. And they confirm that greater religiosity is significantly associated with more positive adolescent life outcomes. This eagerly-awaited volume not only provides an unprecedented understanding of adolescent religion and spirituality but, because teenagers serve as bellwethers for possible future trends, it affords an important and distinctive window through which to observe and assess the current state and future direction of American religion as a whole. |
| sexuality and the black church: Shoutin' in the Fire Danté Stewart, 2021-10-12 A stirring meditation of being Black and learning to love in a loveless, anti-Black world “Only once in a lifetime do we come across a writer like Danté Stewart, so young and yet so masterful with the pen. This work is a thing to make dungeons shake and hearts thunder.”—Robert Jones, Jr., New York Times bestselling author of The Prophets In Shoutin’ in the Fire, Danté Stewart gives breathtaking language to his reckoning with the legacy of white supremacy—both the kind that hangs over our country and the kind that is internalized on a molecular level. Stewart uses his personal experiences as a vehicle to reclaim and reimagine spiritual virtues like rage, resilience, and remembrance—and explores how these virtues might function as a work of love against an unjust, unloving world. In 2016, Stewart was a rising leader at the predominantly white evangelical church he and his family were attending in Augusta, Georgia. Like many young church leaders, Stewart was thrilled at the prospect of growing his voice and influence within the community, and he was excited to break barriers as the church’s first Black preacher. But when Donald Trump began his campaign, so began the unearthing. Stewart started overhearing talk in the pews—comments ranging from microaggressions to outright hostility toward Black Americans. As this violence began to reveal itself en masse, Stewart quickly found himself isolated amid a people unraveled; this community of faith became the place where he and his family now found themselves most alone. This set Stewart on a journey—first out of the white church and then into a liberating pursuit of faith—by looking to the wisdom of the saints that have come before, including James H. Cone, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison, and by heeding the paradoxical humility of Jesus himself. This sharply observed journey is an intimate meditation on coming of age in a time of terror. Stewart reveals the profound faith he discovered even after experiencing the violence of the American church: a faith that loves Blackness; speaks truth to pain and trauma; and pursues a truer, realer kind of love than the kind we’re taught, a love that sets us free. |
| sexuality and the black church: Oh God! Susan D. Newman, 2002 Helps African American women find a balance between spirituality and sexuality, and looks at how interpretations of religious texts have impacted religious instruction in matters relating to women, sex, and spirituality. |
| sexuality and the black church: Soul Liberty Nicole Myers Turner, 2020 Making a new religious freedom -- Independent black church conventions, 1866-1868 -- Religion, race, and gender at the congregational level -- Theological education, race relations, and gender, 1875-1882 -- Politics of engagement. |
| sexuality and the black church: Sexual Abuse of Power in the Black Church Donald H. Matthews PhD, 2012-05-08 This book deals specifically with the topic of the sexual abuse of power in black churches. This problem has been estimated to be three times as prevalent in the black churches, yet scant attention has been brought to bear on this subject. This book is meant to provide a framework for understanding the problem for the purpose of preventing its occurrence in the context of the black church. It examines the history of sexual ethics in the black community as a means of understanding its deep-seated place in the life of the black churches. The book uses the narratives of black women and children who have been the primary victims of this abuse. It identifies the major social and psychological reasons why and how this abuse develops and continues. It is directed to pastors and leaders of the church who wish to put an end to this injustice that is largely born of ignorance and the adoption of a sexual ethic that is derived from slavery and it effects. |
| sexuality and the black church: Pleasure in the News Kim Gallon, 2020-05-25 Critics often chastised the twentieth-century black press for focusing on sex and scandal rather than African American achievements. In Pleasure in the News, Kim Gallon takes an opposing stance—arguing that African American newspapers fostered black sexual expression, agency, and identity. Gallon discusses how journalists and editors created black sexual publics that offered everyday African Americans opportunities to discuss sexual topics that exposed class and gender tensions. While black churches and black schools often encouraged sexual restraint, the black press printed stories that complicated notions about respectability. Sensational coverage also expanded African American women’s sexual consciousness and demonstrated the tenuous position of female impersonators, black gay men, and black lesbians in early twentieth African American urban communities. Informative and empowering, Pleasure in the News redefines the significance of the black press in African American history and advancement while shedding light on the important cultural and social role that sexuality played in the power of the black press. |
Sexual health - World Health Organization (WHO)
May 28, 2025 · Sexual health cannot be defined, understood or made operational without a broad consideration of sexuality, which underlies important behaviours and outcomes related to …
Redefining sexual health for benefits throughout life
Feb 11, 2022 · Looking at outcomes from various initiatives, the research recommends redesigning sexual education and health interventions to incorporate sexual pleasure …
Sexual and reproductive health and rights - World Health …
May 13, 2025 · The World Health Organization defines sexual health as a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being related to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of …
Comprehensive sexuality education
May 18, 2023 · Sexuality education equips children and young people with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that help them to protect their health, develop respectful social and sexual …
Comprehensive sexuality education
Mar 14, 2018 · Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) plays a central role in the preparation of young people for a safe, productive, fulfilling life.
Adolescent sexual and reproductive health
Nov 1, 2019 · According to International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education, there is no magic date to start sexuality education. Even pre-school children can be given developmentally …
International technical guidance on sexuality education
Mar 14, 2018 · Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) plays a central role in the preparation of young people for a safe, productive, fulfilling life in a world where HIV and AIDS, sexually …
Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research (SRH)
Mar 21, 2024 · Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free …
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
May 29, 2025 · WHO fact sheet on sexually transmitted diseases (STIs), providing key facts, as a public health issue, infections and transmissions, STIs and women's health, adverse outcomes …
World Sexual Health Day
Sep 4, 2023 · Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free …
Sexual health - World Health Organization (WHO)
May 28, 2025 · Sexual health cannot be defined, understood or made operational without a broad consideration of sexuality, which underlies important behaviours and outcomes related to …
Redefining sexual health for benefits throughout life
Feb 11, 2022 · Looking at outcomes from various initiatives, the research recommends redesigning sexual education and health interventions to incorporate sexual pleasure …
Sexual and reproductive health and rights - World Health …
May 13, 2025 · The World Health Organization defines sexual health as a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being related to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of …
Comprehensive sexuality education
May 18, 2023 · Sexuality education equips children and young people with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that help them to protect their health, develop respectful social and sexual …
Comprehensive sexuality education
Mar 14, 2018 · Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) plays a central role in the preparation of young people for a safe, productive, fulfilling life.
Adolescent sexual and reproductive health
Nov 1, 2019 · According to International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education, there is no magic date to start sexuality education. Even pre-school children can be given developmentally …
International technical guidance on sexuality education
Mar 14, 2018 · Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) plays a central role in the preparation of young people for a safe, productive, fulfilling life in a world where HIV and AIDS, sexually …
Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research (SRH)
Mar 21, 2024 · Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free …
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
May 29, 2025 · WHO fact sheet on sexually transmitted diseases (STIs), providing key facts, as a public health issue, infections and transmissions, STIs and women's health, adverse outcomes …
World Sexual Health Day
Sep 4, 2023 · Sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free …
