Yale University Library Research Guides: African American Religious History: Practical Theology

Practical Theology

Black Practical Theology by Dale P. Andrews (Editor); Robert London Smith (Editor); Robert London Smith (Editor) Black Practical Theology brings together the hermeneutical conversation between scholars working within the traditional disciplines of theological education (systematic theology, ethics, biblical studies, history) and those scholars working within practical theology (homiletics, pastoral care and counseling, Christian education, spirituality).
Practical Theology for Black Churches: Bridging Black Theology and African American Folk Religion by Dale P. Andrews Redefines the paradigm of church as "refuge" in terms of a faith identity that brings together a concern for liberation with a pastoral focus on spirituality.
The Prophethood of Black Believers: An African American Political Theology for Ministry by J. Deotis Roberts This valuable resource from one of the founding fathers of the black theology movement discusses how to minister to the black community. Using an interdisciplinary approach, J. Deotis Toberts shows how theological concepts can be applied to education, pastoral care, and political and economic issues.
Self, Culture, and Others in Womanist Practical Theology by Phillis Isabella Sheppard To illustrate the complexities of black women's experiences of self-identification and racial embodiment, Phillis Isabella Sheppard provides an account that engages both psychoanalytic theory and the role of religion and cultural objects in self-understanding.

Disruptive Christian Ethics: When Racism and Women's Lives Matter by Traci C. West This book brings to the fore the difficult realities of racism and the sexual violation of women. Traci West argues for a liberative method of Christian social ethics in which the discussion begins not with generic philosophical concepts but in the concrete realities of the lives of the socially and economically marginalized.
The Divided Mind of the Black Church by Raphael G. Warnock 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.
Notes of a Native Daughter: Testifying in Theological Education by Keri Day Testifies to structural inequalities and broken promises of inclusion through the eyes of a black woman who experiences herself as both stranger and friend to prevailing models of theological education.
Walk Together Children: Black and Womanist Theologies, Church and Theological Education by Dwight N. Hopkins (Editor); Linda E. Thomas (Editor) Draws on the long religious, cultural, and singing history of blacks in the U.S.A.

Exorcizing Evil: A Womanist Perspective on the Spirituals by Cheryl Kirk-Duggan Writing from a womanist perspective, professional musician Cheryl Kirk-Duggan probes the spirituals to reveal what they say about the action of God in the face of racial injustice and oppression.
Press, Platform, Pulpit: Black Feminist Publics in the Era of Reform (Online) by Teresa Zackodnik Examines how early black feminism goes public by shedding new light on some of the major figures of early black feminism as well as bringing forward some lesser-known individuals who helped shape various reform movements.
A Womanist Pastoral Theology Against Intimate and Cultural Violence (Online) by Stephanie M. Crumpton This book is about Black women's search for relationships and encounters that support healing from intimate and cultural violence. Narratives provide an ethnographic snapshot of this violence, while raising concerns over whether or not existing paradigms for pastoral care and counseling are congruent with how many Black women approach healing.
A Womanist Theology of Worship: Liturgy, Justice, and Communal Righteousness by Lisa Allen Examines the history of worship in the Black Church in America, the enduring effects of white supremacy on its liturgical heritage, and proffers a new liturgical paradigm, using a womanist hermeneutic, for students, liturgists, liturgical musicians and lay people.