
<h3>Africana Spirituality - Quest for Universals</h3>
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<p>Scholars continue to debate whether certain core values animate Africana Spirituality</p>
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<p>Gayraud Wilmore (historian/theologian) - in the first edition his now classic Black Religion and Black Radicalism (Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1973) - suggests that one such value is a commitment to freedom</p>
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<p>Peter Paris (ethicist) - in The Spirituality of African Peoples (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1995) suggests that there are six moral virtues prized by Africans and African Americans</p>
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<p>In Joy Unspeakable (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004): 44, Barbara Holmes (ethicist) asserts that a communal focus - rather than one centered on the individual - is characteristic of Africana spirituality</p>
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<h3>P. Paris - Africana Moral Virtues</h3>
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<p>Benificence</p>
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<p>Forbearance</p>
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<p>Practical Wisdom</p>
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<p>Improvisation</p>
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<p>Forgiveness</p>
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<p>Justice</p>
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<h3>Africana Spiritualities - R. Franklin’s Work</h3>
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<p>Robert Franklin (ethicist) - in his Another Day’s Journey (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1997): 41-52 - has identified seven traditions of African American Spirituality</p>
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<p>One could argue that these exist not just in North America, but in Africa and elsewhere in the Diaspora</p>
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<p>Each has a telos and sustaining disciplines</p>
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<p>Each is a response to the challenges of Black Life that resists dehumanizing impulses</p>
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<p>Each can be classified as a spirituality of resistance</p>
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<p>The historical roots of these spiritualities can be traced to the 17th century</p>
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<h3>Franklin’s 7 Categories</h3>
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<p>Evangelical -- Divine knowledge; Teaching/Preaching</p>
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<p>Holiness -- Purity; Fasting/Prayer</p>
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<p>Charismatic -- Spiritual empowerment; Tarrying</p>
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<p>Social Justice -- Righteousness; Activism</p>
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<p>Afrocentric -- Black Identity; Heritage Celebrations</p>
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<p>Contemplative -- Divine Intimacy; Meditation</p>
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<p>New Age -- Inner Peace; Meditation</p>
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<h3>Other Classifications</h3>
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<p>Conjurational -- see Theophus Smith, Conjuring Culture: Biblical Formations of Black America (New York: Oxford, 1994) -- focus on Empowerment/Healing; Rituals of Power</p>
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<p>Humanistic -- see Anthony Pinn's treatment in his Varieties of African American Religious Experience (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998): 154-185) -- focus on Self development; Non-Theistic Humanism</p>
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<p>Diasporan Bricolage (H. R. Page, Jr.) -- see "Hymnal as Supplemental Repertory, Materia Medica and Culture Generator - The African American Heritage Hymnal as Conjurational Midrash," in Foundation Theology 2005: Student Essays for Ministry Professionals, ed. H. R. Page, Jr. (South Bend: Graduate Theological Foundation, 2005): 147-161 -- focus on Healing/Wholeness; Engagement/Discernment</p>
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<h3>Questions - Part 3</h3>
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<p>What crises did cities present for African Americans migrating from rural areas in the early 20th century?</p>
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<p>Can religious innovators like Noble Drew Ali, George Alexander McGuire, and Wallace Fard be said to have employed the virtue of improvisation in their work?</p>
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<p>How do Africana expressions of Islam, Orthodox Christianity, and Judaism address needs specific to the African American urban experience?</p>
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