Now you see me, now you don't: subjectivity, blackness, and difference in practical theology in Britain post Brexit

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the intersection of Black Liberation theology and Practical theology, wrestling with the complexity of human subjectivity and epistemology. Practical theology has often been at the forefront of exploring the relationship between lived experience and knowledge production, often in terms of gender and sexuality. Yet, like other forms of theological articulation, the impact of Whiteness has rarely been explored particularly in relation to the converse visibility of Blackness and its paradoxical absence in the British theological academy. This paper seeks to open up that discussion. The latter part of the paper offers a theological exploration of the underlying forces and concerns that gave rise to the Referendum vote to leave the European Union. In what ways has the phenomenon of Whiteness helped to shape the Brexit vote? What might it mean for Practical theology in Britain if Whiteness was acknowledged, especially in our post-Brexit epoch?

KEYWORDS:

• Whiteness
• blackness
• black theology
• complex subjectivity
• practical theology
• post-Brexit

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributor

Professor Anthony G. Reddie is a Learning and Development Officer for the Methodist Church. He is also an Extraordinary Professor of Theological Ethics at the University of South Africa and a Fellow of Wesley House, in Cambridge. He is the author and editor of 17 books and over 70 journal articles and book chapters. His more recent titles include The SCM Core Text: Black Theology, (SCM, 2012), Contesting Post-Racialism (Palgrave 2015) (co-edited with R. Drew Smith, William Ackah and Rothney S. Tshaka and Journeying to Justice (Paternoster 2017) (co-edited with Wale Hudson Roberts and Gale Richards). He is editor of Black Theology: An International Journal, the only academic periodical of its kind in the world. He is a member of the ‘International Academy of Practical Theology’.

Notes

1 See the following website where the then leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage, clearly invokes a cultural interpretation of Christianity as a means of promoting a reactionary, homogeneous construct of Britain. http://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2015/04/nigel-farage-calls-for-muscular-defence-of-christianity-in-the-uk (Accessed the 9th February 2017).

2 For an insightful left-wing critique of Brexit that challenges class-based notions of privilege and explores notions of White entitlement and racism, see the following link. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/24/eu-vote-uk-diminished-politics-poisoned-racism (Accessed 23rd May 2017).