What meaneth this? A postmodern 'theory' of African American religious experience

Abstract

It is the intention of this dissertation to provide a 'theory' of African American religious experience that is guided by postmodern critical thought, with particular emphasis on methodologies attempting to grasp what is referred to as the quotidian, the ordinary, but primarily as "everyday life." It is my contention that this constitutes a promising approach that African American religionists should consider. Indeed, for almost forty years, there has been one dominant interpretative lens for the study of African American religious experience, often referred to as a hermeneutics of liberation. It is my contention that this orientation, with its emphasis on the macroscopic, is markedly inadequate. I maintain that what is needed is a focus on the microscopic. Moreover, I also assert that if there is to be a locus for opposition to oppression, it is to be found on the level of the "everyday" --- that which is often passed over as insignificant or irrelevant.