Conversion: Queer Theory and Black Theology

Abstract

In chapter 1, I wrote about Baldwin’s prolonged religious crisis being shaped by the puritanical influences that demonize black bodies and black sexuality. Baldwin reveals that for him safety reveals the real meaning of religion. Yet, his religious inheritance does not combat the puritanical influences—the metaphors of oppression—that demonize black bodies or offer safety for his sexual self. What emerges for Baldwin is a religious crisis caused by the inability to reconcile faith with sexuality. Baldwin seeks to expose the puritanical barrier of depravity placed between black bodies and moral authority. I concluded chapter 1 by saying that Baldwin uses sexuality to break down that barrier to create a means of resistance to puritanical metaphors of oppression.KeywordsBlack BodyBlack PeopleMoral AuthorityHegemonic MasculinityBlack ChurchThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.