The spiritual lives of young African Americans

353 Pages·2017·1.66 MB·English

by  Wright, Almeda M

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The Spiritual Lives of Young
African Americans
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The Spiritual
Lives of
Young African
Americans
z
ALMEDA M. WRIGHT
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© Oxford University Press 2017
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wright, Almeda M., author.
Title: The spiritual lives of young African Americans / Almeda M. Wright.
Description: New York, NY, United States of America :
Oxford University Press, [2017] Identifers: LCCN 2016042333 (print) |
LCCN 2017017849 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780190664749 (updf) | ISBN 9780190664756 (epub) |
ISBN 9780190664732 (cloth)
Subjects: LCSH: African American youth—Religious life. |
Adolescence—Religious aspects—Christianity.
Classifcation: LCC BR563.N4 (ebook) | LCC BR563.N4 W655 2017 (print) |
DDC 248.4089/96073—dc23
LC record available at htps://lccn.loc.gov/2016042333
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
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To my frst religious educators,
my parents William and Lula Wright.
And to every young person for whom LIVING is not
an easy or obvious option.
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Contents

Acknowledgments  ix

Permissions  xiii

Introduction: Overwhelmed  1

1. Talking Fragments: Fragmented Spirituality in Black Youth and
Churches  17

2. Fragmentation in Context: Psychological and Sociological
Dimensions of Fragmentation  68

3. Tapping into the Legacy: African American Spirituality and
Theological Alternatives to Fragmented Spirituality  94

4. Does God Care?: Evil, Sufering, and an Insufcient Theodicy  121

5. Being Young, Active, and Faithful: Black Youth Activism
Reshaping Black Christian Social Witness  154

6 . Choosing Life with Youth: Vision and Strategies
of Abundant Life  198

Conclusion  237

Appendix A: Youth Interview and Survey Questions  247
Appendix B: Curriculum and Sermon Review Methodology  257

Notes  263
Index  313
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Acknowledgments
Among my circle of colleagues there is a common adage that it takes a
village to raise a scholar. Throughout this research and book project, that has
proven to be true over and over. I owe a wealth of gratitude to my village—
the many people who assisted and supported this project in innumerable
ways: from trusted mentors who believed in the work to the young people
who shared their lives and wisdom.
As I have been wrestling with this project for almost a decade, I have
several villages to thank for their support and encouragement along the
way. First, I am grateful to Cynthia Read and the editorial staf at Oxford
University Press.
I am grateful to my Emory University family and colleagues, where
the seeds of this research were planted. Most especially to Dr. Emmanuel
Lartey and Dean Mary Elizabeth Moore for their leadership and patience
in reading the earliest iterations of this project and pushing me to carry
on. Likewise, I am grateful to the many young people, faculty and gradu-
ate students at the Youth Theological Initiative. I am indebted to Elizabeth
Corrie and Brenda Bennefeld, for their leadership, as well as Catrice
Glenn and Anjulet Tucker for helping to create research instruments and
conduct interviews. The youth interview transcription would not have been
possible without the generous funding of the Lilly Endowment through the
Emory concentration on Religious Practices and Practical Theology.
I am also grateful to my faculty colleagues and students at Pfeifer
University. This was one of the frst places I got to “try out” my ideas and
you will never know how much it meant to have students working in youth
ministry giving direct feedback (and challenge) to my ideas for how to help
youth and young adults. Thank you for pushing me.
I am also truly grateful to my Yale Divinity School (YDS) village. I am
grateful to Dean Gregory Sterling for the generous support and fund-
ing for sabbatical research to complete the manuscript. I have also been