Black Theology

Definition and Meaning

Black theology takes the experience of slavery and racism endured by Black people as its theological starting point. In light of this experience, it seeks to understand God as the one who stands on the side of the oppressed and sets them free. Because it interprets faith from within a particular social situation, it is classified as a branch of contextual theology. Together with Latin American liberation theology, it is also grouped under liberation theology in the broader sense. Its leading representative is the American theologian James H. Cone, who gave the movement systematic form in Black Theology and Black Power (1969) and A Black Theology of Liberation (1970).

Biblical and Historical Background

The principal biblical texts that Black theology cites as its foundation include:

• The Exodus narrative, in which Israel was delivered from bondage
• Jesus' sermon at Nazareth, in which he proclaimed deliverance to the captives and liberty to the oppressed (Luke 4:18-19)
• The prophets' call for justice (Amos 5:24)

Its historical background includes the spirituals sung by enslaved Black people and the traditions of the Black church. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, led by figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., and the Black Power movement of the late 1960s, which emphasized Black self-determination and pride, also formed part of this background. In the 1970s, a Black theology opposing the policy of racial segregation known as apartheid developed in South Africa. Desmond Tutu is often mentioned as a figure associated with this movement.

Reception in the Korean Church

Cone's works have been translated and introduced in Korea since the 1970s. Black theology is frequently compared with minjung theology, which took shape during the same period amid the democratization movement. Scholars of the two theologies are known to have interacted through venues such as gatherings of Third World theologians.

Attitudes toward Black theology vary by denomination and theological orientation:

• Progressive denominations and seminaries, such as the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea and Hanshin University, have regarded Black theology as an attempt to read the gospel from the standpoint of those who suffer and have presented it with interest.
• Theologians at seminaries affiliated with conservative Presbyterian denominations and in the evangelical camp have criticized Black theology for placing racial experience ahead of Scripture and for reducing salvation to political and social liberation.
• Proponents of Black theology counter that all theology arises from a particular context. They further argue that the image of a God who cares for the oppressed is one to which Scripture itself bears witness.

In the Korean church, Black theology is addressed mainly in systematic theology and Christian ethics courses at theological schools rather than in local church preaching or educational programs.