Title:
How can African Americans be authentically, unapologetically Black and Roman Catholic?
Author:
Michael Derral Brooks
Thesis Advisor:
Joseph Rossi
Degree Granting Institution:
Loyola University Maryland--College of Arts and Sciences
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Loyola University Maryland
Date Created:
2019
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
born digital
Abstract:
My research concentration focuses on how African Americans can be authentically, unapologetically Black and Roman Catholic. A year before his death, Dr. James Cone1 asked this question of me and I did not have a response; because he had unnerved me by his directness. However, as I contemplated the dynamics of his intent, I realized his question implied that to be authentically Black, one must be Protestant – a position I am diametrically opposed to. Therefore, I examined the Black Catholic experience in an effort to present the faithfulness of Blacks to God and their tenacity in the face of social and religious challenges, while maintaining their ethnic identity and dignity. I also want to show how the Catholic Church has progressed in its theological thinking and approach to inculturation. In this instance, when I speak of the Catholic Church, I am referring to the Roman Catholic Church and when I reference theology, I am speaking specifically about liturgy and inclusion. There is a consensus that theology is man’s speaking about God – his perception and experiences with the Divine. However, when I speak about liturgy I am speaking of the ways in which people worship and praise God in word, prayer, songs, body and the styles and methodologies used to lift-up themselves into the presence of an almighty and omnipotent God. This is their experience, and this is their reality. I am particularly interested in what is described as “Traditional African American Worship” and how this style of worship is practiced in the Roman Catholic Liturgy today. Although worship development took place on plantations in the slave south of the antebellum period, it is of paramount importance to realize that the way Black Africans responded to their new religion was based on preexisting practices in Africa. It is of equal value to study the document “Sacrosanctum Concilium” from the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), to understand how the Roman Church’s efforts at renewal opened the doors for African Americans and others to incorporate their cultural practices and identity into the Latin liturgy. I argue the essence of this research addresses ritual; but at core, there is something much more profound in understanding the social dynamics that impact liturgy and ritual. To help support my argument, I use the writings of the following theologians: Father Bryan Massingale; Rev. Dr. James Cone; and Father Cyprian Davis -along with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and other theologians, to help dispel the notion that the Roman Catholic Church only embodies a Eurocentric mode of worship. The presumption being, it and only it, is the norm or standard to which all others should conform.
Subject:
Academic theses
Subject:
Electronic dissertations
Subject:
Thèses et écrits académiques
Subject:
Thèses électroniques
Subject:
dissertations
Degree:
Master of Theological Studies
Level:
Master
Discipline:
Theology
Restrictions on Access:
This work is made available to the Loyola Notre Dame Library basic constituency.
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Identifier:
BrooksMD-19
