“Living in the Master's House”: Race and Rhetoric in the Theology of M. Shawn Copeland

Abstract

ABSTRACTM. Shawn Copeland joins a liberationist epistemology with the conceptual framework of Bernard Lonergan to offer both a stinging critique of racism and a constructive Catholic theological anthropology. This essay examines Copeland's grounding of theological anthropology in two dimensions: the historical experience of poor women of color, and eschatological solidarity in the Mystical Body of Christ. The second major concern of this essay is the rhetoric of race in black theology and its reception among white theologians. The author, from his perspective as a white, male Catholic theologian, probes questions of white conversion, black anger, and race essentialism raised by Copeland's theology. Highlighting a tension between speaking the truth about white racism “in the master's house” and maintaining the Christian vision of “one humanity” bound by grace, the author argues that, as far as possible, the race critique must flow from a contemplative and pastoral spirit.