Lived Theologies of Nonviolence in Conversation with the Doctrine of the United Methodist Church

Conversations surrounding difficult moral issues like war and peace still occur in many faith communities. The United Methodist Church is no exception, as some followers remain devoted to nonviolence in spite of the many traditional doctrines already accepted by the community at large.

In Practicing Discipleship, author Nicole Johnson interviews twelve of these United Methodists committed to a nonviolent theology to understand how they defend and practice their convictions. Her analysis reveals a lived theology rooted in Scripture; nonviolence is seen as central to the life and teachings of Christ. While the traditional Methodist teachings are affirmed by the interviewees, they aim to garner more support and education on nonviolence as a faithful option for Christians. Penned for the church committed to serious discipleship, the publication continues the dialogue on nonviolent ethics amidst today’s violent landscape.

Reviews and endorsements of the book include:

“Through an exploration into the lived theology of United Methodist Christians committed to nonviolence, Johnson draws us in a winsome way into the lives, beliefs, and practices that undergird such commitment and challenge all churches to take seriously their moral authority–a good read toward constructive dialogue around a difficult issue.” —Rodney Petersen, Executive Director, The Boston Theological Institute

“This study brings reflections and experiences of United Methodists committed to non-violence into conversation with the rather complex, ambiguous teachings of the United Methodist church . . . I believe that the actual stories and reflections of those who have come to this commitment, sometimes struggling with their church in the process, will be challenging and inspiring to a readership interested in peace and justice issues, church and society, and spiritual formation. While the research clearly focuses on United Methodists, the topic will resonate with and be interesting to a broader readership.”  —Claire Wolfteich, Associate Professor, Boston University School of Theology

For more information on Practicing Discipleship, click here.

Fellow travelers are scholars, activists, and practitioners that embody the ideals and commitments of the Project on Lived Theology. We admire their work and are grateful to be walking alongside them in the development and dissemination of Lived Theology.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyReads. For more recommended resources from our fellow travelers, click here, #PLTfellowtravelers. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.

W. E. B. Du Bois and the Black Social Gospel

The end of the Civil War spurred many important beginnings, most notably the freedom of enslaved individuals and the founding of the black social gospel. The tradition would become an important sphere of religious and intellectual thought, later acting as the foundation of the civil rights movement. In The New Abolition, author Gary Dorrien traces the black social gospel from its emergence in the nineteenth century to its champion in the twentieth century, W. E. B. Du Bois. Winner of the 2017 Grawemeyer Award in Religion, the book offers a fresh take on both modern Christianity and the civil rights era by following one tradition through history that would influence the thought and activism of many civil rights pioneers to come.

Reviews and endorsements of the publication include:

“A magisterial treatment of a neglected stream of American religious history presented by one of this generation’s premier interpreters of modern religious thought performing at the top of his game.” —William Stacy Johnson, Princeton Theological Seminary

“This is classic Dorrien—beautifully written, cogent, and moving.  Ever the careful historian, ethicist, and astute cultural critic, Dorrien has penned another must read book for general readers and scholars alike.”—Emilie M. Townes, Vanderbilt Divinity School

“Gracefully written and carefully researched, Dorrien’s The New Abolition is an impressive recovery of W. E. B. Du Bois’s relationship to the black social gospel. Anyone seeking to understand the historic contours of race, religion, and social activism in the twentieth century absolutely must read this book.”—Juan M. Floyd-Thomas, Vanderbilt University

“Definitive . . . a capacious intellectual history . . . No reader will doubt the consummate professionalism of the scholarship, or the passion that Dorrien clearly has about the subject . . . with crisp narrative prose . . . gems of analysis and great personal stories from the often astonishing lives and deeply disturbing experiences of the protagonists.”—Paul Harvey, Christian Century

Find more information on this book here.

Fellow travelers are scholars, activists, and practitioners that embody the ideals and commitments of the Project on Lived Theology. We admire their work and are grateful to be walking alongside them in the development and dissemination of Lived Theology.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyReads. For more recommended resources from our fellow travelers, click here, #PLTfellowtravelers. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.

Lived Theologies and Literature

Religion was largely ingrained into the identity and everyday existence of the nineteenth-century American woman, shaping the literature female authors produced. Nineteenth-Century American Women Write Religion examines this vast collection of fiction, political writings, poetry, and memoirs to explore the diversity of religious discourse of the time as told by authors, activists, and faith believers, including Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Angelina and Sarah Grimké, Louisa May Alcott, Rebecca Harding Davis, Harriet E. Wilson, Sarah Piatt, Julia Ward Howe, Julia A. J. Foote, Lucy Mack Smith, Rebecca Cox Jackson, and Fanny Newell. The collaborative product of ten scholars, this work focuses specifically on the lived theologies of these women, illuminating the ways they used the language of religious sentiment amidst the largely repressive context they found themselves in.

Mary McCartin Wearn opens with an introduction of the text, writing:

“Women’s literature of the nineteenth century provides an excellent artifact through which to illustrate the complicated and varied experience of religion in women’s lives. While feminine piety was a powerful force in the home, church, and community, women’s spiritual leadership was largely unofficial…

In a world where women were declared religious by nature but denied any official stature within the Church, the written word became an excellent means of establishing cultural authority and expressing faith in the public sphere.”

For more information on the book, click here.

Fellow travelers are scholars, activists, and practitioners that embody the ideals and commitments of the Project on Lived Theology. We admire their work and are grateful to be walking alongside them in the development and dissemination of Lived Theology.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyReads. For more recommended resources from our fellow travelers, click here, #PLTfellowtravelers. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.

Working People and the Rise of Social Christianity in Chicago

While the late 1800s brought a period of tremendous economic growth to the United States, this Gilded Age also revealed the extreme poverty and inequality suffered by the working class. In Union Made, author Heath W. Carter credits the beginnings of a new discipline– American Social Christianity– to these common laborers rather than the more often credited middle-class spiritual leaders of the day.

Workers believed God stood behind organized labor; institutional church leaders had strayed from the true gospel in their suspicions and reservations. With more and more working believers turning away from a false church, Carter writes that American Christianity was saved only when pastors embraced the plight of the common man in the spirit of the Social Gospel. Penned in the midst of a “New Gilded Age” developing today, Union Made offers a new way forward through lessons from the past.

Reviews and endorsements of the publication include:

“In contemporary America, where the gulf between the rich and poor threatens to yawn that wide again, Christianity and conservative politics have become so intertwined that many American believers are convinced that their faith mandates small government….Carter, however, shows us a different route.” —Church History

“No mere opiate or tool of oppression, working-class faith emerges from the pages of this extraordinary book as the generative force that made the nineteenth-century social gospel viable. Social Christianity made resistance against industrial capitalism and its barons a possible and necessary thing. Combining the finest qualities of classic social, urban, and labor histories with the curiosities of our scholarly (and political) moment, Union Made is a sharp, much-needed reminder that American Christianity has not always been free-market in persuasion or comfortable on the corporate side. Beautifully crafted, it is also a stirring must-read.” –Darren Dochuk, author of From Bible Belt to Sunbelt: Plain-Folk Religion, Grassroots Politics, and the Rise of EvangelicalConservatism

“In recovering these working-class voices, Carter makes a significant scholarly contribution to the field of American religious history while also deepening our understanding of the labor movement during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. More than just recasting the origins of Social Christianity, he reminds us of the profound moral debates that surrounded the rise of industrial capitalism and reveals how workers campaigned for justice as forcefully and ardently within the religious sphere as they did in the political and economic arenas.” –Thomas Rzeznik, The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era

Find more information on the book here.

Fellow travelers are scholars, activists, and practitioners that embody the ideals and commitments of the Project on Lived Theology. We admire their work and are grateful to be walking alongside them in the development and dissemination of Lived Theology.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyReads. For more recommended resources from our fellow travelers, click here, #PLTfellowtravelers. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.