We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Colonial Spirituality: The Pain and Politics of Doing Filipino American Theology.
- Authors
Catanus, Gabriel J.
- Abstract
Leading Filipino American scholars and activists refer to the colonial mentality as the primary obstacle to healthy U.S. Filipino identity and community. As a result, the colonial mentality is considered the main impediment to Filipino American political mobilization and collective participation in the work of social justice. Given its problematic relationship to Spanish and American colonization of the Philippines, Christianity— its sources, practices, institutions, and ongoing influence— is especially suspect. Filipino American scholars generally treat Christianity as a colonizing instrument, rarely examining its liberative political potential. In this paper, I argue that emerging Filipino American theologies must engage these postcolonial critiques. I show how U.S. Filipino pastors face an especially urgent task in light of the social and political divisions revealed in recent years. To support this important work, I present “colonial spirituality” as a concept that integrates Filipino American studies with constructive theology and ethics. Finally, I offer colonial spirituality as a term which highlights the inseparability of pastoral and political theology in Filipino American and other religious contexts.
- Subjects
PHILIPPINES; FILIPINO Americans; SPIRITUALITY; POLITICAL theology; SOCIAL justice; PASTORAL theology; SPANISH colonies; SOCIAL participation; POLITICAL participation
- Publication
ChristianityNext, 2022, p27
- ISSN
2639-0078
- Publication type
Article