Can Christian ethics be saved? Colonialism, racial justice and the task of decolonising Christian theology

Selina Stone*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Christian ethical practice has historically fallen short, when we consider the histories of European colonial violence from the sixteenth century and the transatlantic slave trade in Africans. Today, Christian ethics can fail to uphold a standard of resistance to contemporary evils, including racial injustice. To what extent can Christian ethics break with this history and be saved? This article considers the ongoing colonial tendencies of Christian ethics and theological education in Britain, before considering the centrality of decolonisation, primarily ‘of the mind’. In the latter part, it turns to examples of anti-colonial Christian ethics, in the work of Robert Beckford, Anthony Reddie, Anupama Ranawana and Anderson Jeremiah. It ends by giving attention to what decolonisation might mean in religious and theological education, as we seek to create spaces for learning in which all people's bodies, minds and voices are welcomed and honoured.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3-18
Number of pages16
JournalStudies in Christian Ethics
Volume37
Issue number1
Early online date15 Nov 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2024

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • colonialism
  • decolonisation
  • education
  • justice
  • race
  • slavery
  • theology

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