Can Christian Ethics be Saved? Colonialism, Racial Justice and the Task of Decolonising Christian Theology

Stone, Selina

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.

Citation

Stone, S. (2024). Can Christian Ethics be Saved? Colonialism, Racial Justice and the Task of Decolonising Christian Theology. Studies in Christian Ethics, 37(1), 3-18. https://doi.org/10.1177/09539468231213557

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 15, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Nov 15, 2023
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2024
• Deposit Date: Feb 13, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 13, 2024
• Journal: Studies in Christian Ethics
• Print ISSN: 0953-9468
• Electronic ISSN: 1745-5235
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 37
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 3-18
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/09539468231213557
• Keywords: education, theology, slavery, race, justice, Colonialism, decolonisation
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2254318