In this thought-provoking episode, our guest, William D. Hart, shares how his penchant for religious autobiographies led him to critique what he coins as “the standard narrative of Black religion” and how Afro-ecentric forms of spirituality develop strong communities and fight for freedom.

Highlights:

• What William D. Hart means by “the standard narrative of Black religion”
• The Black church as a school of leadership, business and virtue – the “outsized” role that the Black church played in the lives of African Americans
• How historians and sociologists created an entity called “The Black Church”
• The positive and negative sides of strong communities
• Afro-Eccentric forms of spirituality as distinct from the norms of “the Black Church”
• Black freedom movements for the unchurched and anti-church

Mentioned in This Episode:

• E.B. DuBois, The Negro Church: https://amzn.to/4nkJZm1
• Judith Weisenfeld, New World A-Coming: Black Religion and Racial Identity during the Great Migration: https://amzn.to/3Wisp7a
• Anthony Hoekema, The Four Major Cults: Christian Science, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, Seventh-Day Adventism: https://amzn.to/3L04mYe
• Arthur Huff Fauset, Black Gods of the Metropolis: Negro Religious Cults: https://amzn.to/48J3uRG
• Joseph Murphy, Working the Spirit: Ceremonies of the African Diaspora: https://amzn.to/4qoes5e
• Tracy E. Hucks, Yoruba Traditions and African American Nationalism: https://amzn.to/49hGHwn
• Tracey E. Hucks: Obeah, Orisa and Religious Identity in Trinidad, Vol. 1, Obeah: Africans in the White Colonial Imagination: https://amzn.to/47D6ZrG
• Robert Farris Thompson, Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro-American Art and Philosophy: https://amzn.to/4hkfZoS
• Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Phoenix, AZ: https://ambc-az.org/
• Cornel West: http://www.cornelwest.com/

Books by William D. Hart:

Edward Said and the Religious Effects of Culture: https://amzn.to/4o48FAs

Black Religion: Malcolm X, Julius Lester, and Jan Willis: https://amzn.to/4hr4Um3

Afro-Eccentricity: Beyond the Standard Narrative of Black Religion: https://amzn.to/47eGKq5

The Blackness of Black: Key Concepts in Critical Discourse: https://amzn.to/4hjUNPO

Guest Information:

William David Hart is the Margaret W. Harmon Professor of Religious Studies at Macalester College. He is the author of The Blackness of Black: Key Concepts in Critical Discourse (Lexington 2020); Afro-Eccentricity: Beyond the Standard Narrative of Black Religion (Palgrave (2011); Black Religion: Malcolm X, Julius Lester, and Jan Willis (Palgrave 2008); and Edward Said and the Religious Effects of Culture (Cambridge 2000). His research interests include Black studies, social theory, philosophy of race, American philosophy, and the intersections of religion, ethics, and politics.

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In this thought-provoking episode, our guest, Will Coleman, shares how hoodoo is his religion of origin, his interests in African retentions in African American culture, and why he considers his spiritual practice to be expansive rather than eclectic.

Highlights:

• How hoodoo underlies Will Coleman’s rearing in Black Christianity
• How years of learning led to a year of initiations
• How tarot cards led him to “ancestral intelligence”
• Will’s connection between memory and being engaged in movements for liberation

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Henry Louis Gates Jr., Signifying Monkey: a Theory of African American Literary Criticism: https://amzn.to/42Ameig
• Michael Beckwith: https://www.michaelbeckwith.com/
• Presbyterian Church USA: https://pcusa.org/
• Where'd He Get That?: A Biblical Cross-Reference to Ernest Holmes' the Science of Mind by Margo Ruark: https://amzn.to/4n2CrEq
• Rosicrucianism/ Fraternity of the Rosy Cross: https://www.rosicrucian.org/
• Oba Adebolu Fatunmise: https://youtu.be/W_ohdHEhNbs?si=t8rrZyRhqLW0jU2v

Books by Will Coleman:

Tribal Talk: Black Theology, Hermeneutics, and African/American Ways of “Telling the Story”: https://amzn.to/47lxxNW

African Traditional Religions Textbook: Ifa (open source): https://research.auctr.edu/Ifa

Guest Information:

Will Coleman, Ph.D. is a theologian and teacher of Biblical spirituality. He was born and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. After completing his Bachelor of Arts degree in religion at Rhodes College in Memphis, he moved to Decatur, Georgia in order to attend Columbia Theological Seminary where he received his Master of Divinity degree, with a focus in theology. A few years later, he went on to receive the Ph.D. from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. His areas of concentration were in philosophical and systematic theology, philosophy of religion and interpretation theory. He is Associate Professor of Theology and World Religions Emeritus from the Interdenominational Theological Center; The Holmes Institute; and The Johnnie Colman Theological Seminary. He is an honorably retired minster of the presbyterian church (U.S.A.). He teaches and tutors individuals and groups in a variety of contexts in the areas of theology and Biblical spirituality, which interprets the Bible as a guide for transformation of consciousness in the original sounds, symbols and languages of the Hebrew, Greek and Latin texts than in English translations

wcolemanphd33 at gmail dot com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/will.coleman.56

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In this thought-provoking episode, our guest, Natasha L. Robinson, shares about growing up in an African-centered church, practicing Ifa/Orisa traditions and where she sees justice show up in her faith and the world.

Highlights:

• How membership in a Black church that values African cultures shaped Natasha’s openness to different religions
• How Natasha recovered from betrayal by a religious leader
• Where justice shows up in Natasha’s multifaith understanding
• How Natasha understands Jesus in and out of church

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Trinity United Church of Christ: https://www.trinitychicago.org/
• The Gathering: a Womanist Church: http://www.thegatheringexperience.com/
• Pink Robe Chronicles: https://www.drmelvasampson.com/pink-robe-chronicles
• Ase Ire: https://aseire.com/
• Jeremiah Wright: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_Wright
• Melva Sampson: https://www.drmelvasampson.com/about
• Irie Lynne Sessions: https://www.dririe.com/about
• Kamilah Hall Sharp: https://www.ctschicago.edu/people/kamilah-hall-sharp/
• Ilekes: https://asanee44.com/ileke-beads-in-the-ifa-tradition/

Guest Information:

Natasha Robinson, J.D. is Assistant Vice President of Social Justice and Advocacy and Title IX Coordinator for Roosevelt University. Professor Robinson is a retired criminal defense attorney, and the creator and curator of Legaleaze Please! LLC, an online platform and digital space that empowers the development of individual and collective comprehension of criminal laws, cases, and policies through decoding, deconstructing, and demystifying legal language. Professor Robinson has been a regular guest legal analyst on CourtTV and WGN9 news. Robinson is a proud ministry partner of The Gathering, A Womanist Church, in Dallas, Texas, and is currently pursuing a Masters of Theological Studies as a member of the Sacred Memory Cohort at McCormick Theological Seminary.

Legaleazeplease at gmail dot com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/legaleaze_please/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/legaleazeplease/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/natasha.l.robinson.5

Join the Conversation:

Have thoughts about this episode? We’d love to hear from you! Send us your comments or questions at www.DiverseDevotions.com