Religious traditions, and traditions more generally, sometimes change because of their participants’ experiences, arguments, interpretations, and needs. In today’s class we will look to the emergence of (black) Womanist theology in the 20th century. This example will show us how personal experiences, arguments, interpretations of authoritative texts, and needs, together fuel changes to a religious tradition. These changes are not absolute departures from, or complete rejections of, the religious tradition, but rather are a revival with fitting changes to the religious tradition. By the end of class, you will:
1. Appreciate various motivations for wishing to revise one’s own religious tradition, including the experience of sexism.
2. Understand how revising one’s religious tradition need not require a complete rejection of that religious tradition (including authoritative texts).
3. Be able to describe the significance of the interpretation of a text, and describe some interpretive principles that can lead to new interpretations of a text.
Consider the following questions, write your responses in your journal, and talk about them with a friend:
1. What are some ways that you have revised your practices, rituals, or religion in order to meet specific needs or moral demands?
2. What would it be like to revise your practices, rituals, or religion and be a faithful participant in that tradition?
3. If you know someone who has revised their religion while continuing to practice their religion, which epistemic norms can you observe them following? How might revising one’s religion connect with changing one’s religious beliefs?