Postcolonial Theology

Abstract

Abstract Postcolonial theology is an academic discipline within religious thought whereby structures of power, dominant systems, and embedded ideologies are examined, critiqued, and negotiated in order to make social transformations that recognize and validate the perspectives of marginalized peoples, cultures, and identities. Secular studies in postcolonial theory have played a significant role in giving rise to this genre of theological reflection. The traditional advent of postcolonial studies came in 1978 with the publication of Edward Said's book Orientalism , which unmasked Eurocentric assumptions ascribed to Oriental life, thus generating a misrepresentative reality in the Western imagination that was imposed upon Eastern people. The ability of colonial groups to speak for themselves had been stripped away, wherein they were customarily the object of discourse and rarely the subject (Lazarus 2004: 9). Additionally, decolonialization in the 20th century, specifically national rehabilitation, was problematic. Attempts to revitalize state and cultural identities failed because of the continued impact of colonialism and recognized shortcomings in indigenous heritages. “Interpreters simultaneously commended and condemned their cultural heritage” (Sugirtharajah 2003: 1), and as a result of this dialectic, new forms of literary, artistic, historical, and cultural productions began to embrace the multiculturality, migrancy, and hybridity of postcolonialialism; therefore postcolonial theory “effectively became a reconciliatory rather than a critical, anticolonialist category” (Lazarus 2004: 76). Within this context postcolonial theology emerged, placing the colonized “other” at the center of theological interpretations, wherein universalistic and individualistic Western categories are confronted through “positive engagement” (Keller et al. 2004: 9). Postcolonial theology recognizes differences and allows for a multiplicity of responses, hoping to achieve a reciprocal exchange of perspectives from all voices. Postcolonial theology has expanded, seeking emancipation and authenticity for all marginalized or oppressed identities, including issues of nationality, culture, race, gender, and sexuality. Pragmatically based theologizing occurs within one's context in order to inspire awareness, critical dialogue, and integration of ideas. The primary goal of postcolonial theology is to critique hegemonic ideological constructions that make absolutist or totalitarian claims and to provide legitimacy for alternative theological views.