The Spiritual Lives of Young African Americans

Abstract

The Spiritual Lives of Young African Americans unearths the ways that African American Christian youth separate their lives and spirituality into mutually exclusive categories, with the result that their religious beliefs and practices do not directly impact their experiences of communal and systemic injustices. Yet this work argues that youth can and do teach the church and society myriad lessons through their theological reflections and actions. This book takes seriously the harsh realities of African American youth, who are often marginalized and even dehumanized within society and religious institutions. It draws upon in-depth theological reflection with adolescents and recent research on adolescent spirituality to examine the crucial role of spirituality in adolescent identity formation and the practical ways that youth negotiate the world around them. Listening to the voices of young African Americans, including activist and poets, pushes us to consider specific examples of fragmentation, including how young African Americans can reconcile their faith in God with their experiences of police brutality and ongoing violence. In conversation with young African Americans, this book also mines the resources of African American religious and theological traditions, and shows how collectively they can help youth to navigate fragmentation and respond to systemic injustice. In particular, abundant life, or choosing the way of life abundant, offers a vision of life and hope for young people who are too often surrounded by death. This work concludes with a critical pedagogy for integrating spirituality and fostering abundant life with African American youth.