In the midst of great injustice in America, particularly
injustice that Christianity should respond to, I often feel a tension between
my concept of God and ethical commitments, and the value system being
demonstrated by white Americans. This is especially the case as I watch them
deny the existence of racism. It seems Jesus is lord over everything but white
privilege, or perhaps his favor only extends to those with white skin. Of
course I know better. Black Christianity has always been different, our
conception of God steeped in a deeply ingrained sense of connection and
responsibility to our community, that bucks the selfishness of American
individualism. Historically, “The religious spirit that the
slaves nurtured and promoted in various secret assemblies was undoubtedly
subversive… As a consequence those secret meetings became the locus for the
development of an alternative understanding of the Christian gospel which the
slaves celebrated and proclaimed in many varied ways.” (39) The differences in black and white Christianity was not just
a consequence of the unique oppressive situations Black people found themselves
in, but is a derivative of the distinct African cosmology and value system
imbedded in African peoples.
In his treatment of The
Spiritualties of African People, Peter Paris recovers the African
cosmological and ethical system at work in various ways in the values and
practices of the people of the African Diaspora. In it Paris explores the interdependence and
fluidity of the concepts of God, community, family and personhood and their
unity in a telos of the preservation and promotion of the harmony and benefit
of the community. (130) Such information is priceless to the Black American
Christian trying to make sense of the dissonance of their spiritual and ethical
sensibilities and the dominant religious schema. Paris contends Black Americans
have never been able to fully buy into the individualism of the West, because
it contradicts their understanding of personhood. He offers, “the communal traditions of
African Americans (deeply rooted in Africa and preserved through slavery in the
family, music, and religion) have made it psychologically impossible for the
vast majority of them to embrace fully the basic value system of white
Americans.” (126) From an African perspective, People are to seek to live a
good life check, one where they are of value to their community – check, so
that are blessed with a good death - … ok, so that they might function as the
link between their descendants and the spirit realm— come again? In one’s death
they are honored by their family, which consequently facilitates a person’s
immortality— Houston, we have a problem here.
I was super excited for a spirituality congruent with my
innate sensibilities toward the unity of community and personhood, but my American orientation is
compromising my enthusiasm for the spiritual economy of my native land. Further, what am I, a single woman with no
children to do with all this talk about descendants? How do I achieve
mortality? Paris recounts that in African cultures marriage is the focus of
existence, not only does it join two families together, expanding their family
unit and resources, but it makes procreation possible. From the African perspective, no greater
tragedy befalls a woman than to be childless because she has no one to maintain
her immortality after death, and she fails to carry out her role as the
“vehicle in the cyclical process of life.” (112) Hmm… so does my life have
meaning? How am I connected to the community? Should I feel like a failure because I have neglected to carry out my
biological/spiritual/ communal duty?
In many cases, I think the latent African value system
inscribed in the spirits of most black women does instigate a sense of guilt,
and a scrambling to make meaning out of a life that has the potential of being
deemed meaningless because of a lack of husband and children. I wonder if this
is why many of us remain in relationships that don’t work, and why we tend to
see so many women become hyper-involved in civic and church activities. It
seems if we cannot fulfill our responsibilities as the physical conduits to the
perpetuity of the community, we take it upon ourselves to contribute to its
well being through acts of service and surrogacy.
Despite the withholding of the rock star status of ancestor,
I think I fare better, in a system where I may be subordinated due to my lack
of biological productivity, yet have the opportunity of attaining premier
status for my contributions to the community through acts of service, rather
than the white Christian system where I have no chances of consideration on account
of my blackness. After all, the former entails a commitment to a community I
feel called to, with or without children. I suppose the lack of children even makes
my social contributions easier to perform, and in the end, I will be providing for my
extended sons and daughters, present in the community in which I am indeed a
part of, even if I don’t get to intercede on their behalf when I transition to
the spirit realm. By then I’ll need a break anyway.
I appreciate your highlighting of Paris' perception of women's roles in Africa. I too found it difficult to align with his proposed purpose and values for women. In addition, I liked that you touched upon the dissonance and somewhat double consciousness that occurs in a Black Christian. Such a conundrum brings the question of whether to assimilate to the forefront again and again.
ReplyDeleteI would have liked for you to continue discussing the assumption that a woman's function or purpose in life is having children and if that can't be achieved, her life has no meaning. Further, I would like to hear more about how such a viewpoint works in this modern world. For instance, how does the notion of "I am because WE are" works with the thought that women have to have their own specific children to matter. Like you said, participating in the raising and molding of the surrogate children of the community should hold similar if not just as much value as the bringing up of your own biological children.
Unrelated to the "women's purpose" argument and more in regards to the dissonance of Black Christians, I think it would be interesting to see how other races have assimilated to Christianity. For instance, I have seen Korean and Chinese christian churches. Inquires into how this racial group's assimilation compares to that of African/African American people would be interesting. Those of Asian descent are often considered the "model citizens", a status on the complete opposite of the social spectrum from African Americans. Despite this enslavement/atrocities do exist in their history (i.e. Japanese concentration camps or the Chinese's work on the railroad) though they were not culturally targeted.
I love that you cover the communal aspects of African American Christianity, but also consider your own personal experience as a single African American woman and the shortcomings that can possibly come from certain principles of African spirituality. Your observation is very well-balanced, and that is what I appreciate about it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I really like your insight on Black women, relationships, and responsibilities and believe that they are valid, I probably would have liked to see some data or tangible evidence of the scenarios you present. Along that note, finding connections between the experiences of Black women, relationships, responsibilities, and African values make for very interesting subject matter to study even further. I believe that a study of this sort would be very valuable.
Your summary of Paris’ text is fantastic and I really like how you have framed it as a text that is meant to help the Black American Christian make sense of their cognitive dissonance between their personal spirituality and the dominant religious culture of the West. Additionally, I like your critiques of certain pieces of his text from your perspective of being an African American woman that does not satisfy his definition of what Paris believes should be meaningful to you.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see more of why it is that you feel that your contributions may be of no consideration in a white Christian system as I am less familiar with the differences that are implied. Elaboration on this topic would be enlightening for someone like me who has only ever experienced the white Christian system.