Black Theology in Urban Shadow: Combating Racism in the Church of England

Abstract

AbstractChurch reports, Faith in the City (1985), Seeds of Hope (1991), Staying in the City (1995), and The Passing Winter (1996) are examined and assessed as being not so much about challenging racism as about exoneration for senior office holders who abdicate any individual responsibility. It is argued that the term ‘institutionalized racism’ is used by those who embrace a self-conscious Englishness to avoid the very issues upon which such a concept should be constructed. Fullblown racism involves structures and institutions with real power to discriminate in jobs, housing, policing, educational provision and includes the treatment of Black people in the Church of England. It is argued that Church of England reports associate race-related issues with urban deprivation and this reinforces the cycle of Black exclusion. However, academic credibility is maintained in this article by allowing Faith in the City, Seeds of Hope and Staying in the City to speak for themselves before conclusions are drawn, thus f...