{"id":441,"date":"2008-10-31T16:50:23","date_gmt":"2008-10-31T16:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/stevenwaldman\/2008\/10\/is-obama-a-black-liberation-th.html"},"modified":"2008-10-31T16:50:23","modified_gmt":"2008-10-31T16:50:23","slug":"is-obama-a-black-liberation-th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/stevenwaldman\/2008\/10\/is-obama-a-black-liberation-th.html","title":{"rendered":"Is Obama a Black Liberation Theologist?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m attending the American Academy of Religion, the conference of religion professors, for a few days. Just heard a talk from Dwight Hopkins, who is both a professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School and a member of the United Church of Christ formerly pastored by Jeremiah Wright. He also studied under James Cone, the originator of Black Liberation Theology.
\nSince so many commenters on my blog have said that Obama is a Black Liberation Theology practictioner, I asked Hopkins whether he thought Obama was. He said Obama;s emphasis on “the least of these” and being your brother’s keeper fits Black Liberation Theology (as well as many others).
\nBut there are key differences, he said. “Wright starts with the particularity of the African American experience. Obama starts with the idea that we are Americans, we move together.”
\nI’d add one other difference. The emphasis of Black Liberation Theology seems to be on collective salvation. Obama seems to accept that but also speaks in terms of personal salvation as well. In his interview a while back with Christianity Today<\/a>, you can see both strands:<\/p>\n

” I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life. But most importantly, I believe in the example that Jesus set by feeding the hungry and healing the sick and always prioritizing the least of these over the powerful.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m attending the American Academy of Religion, the conference of religion professors, for a few days. Just heard a talk from Dwight Hopkins, who is both a professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School and a member of the United Church of Christ formerly pastored by Jeremiah Wright. 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