In 1993, Delores S. Williams authored the seminal book Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk. This groundbreaking book was one of the first to develop an understanding of womanist religious thought. In 2012, Vanderbilt University and the Black Religious Scholars group celebrated the contributions of Delores Williams and twenty-four other womanist scholars who contributed to womanist discourse with the gathering “What Manner of Woman Is This?” Now in 2014, Monica Coleman, associate professor of constructive theology and African-American religions at Claremont School of Theology, has edited a book entitled Ain't I a Womanist Too? Third-Wave Womanist Religious Thought that critiques as well as makes a contribution to the womanist theological discourse.
The book, as Coleman states, evolved from her article “Must I Be a Womanist?” in the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion (2006), as well as from a 2010 Third-Wave Womanist Religious Thought conference organized by Coleman through the Claremont School of Theology and including many of the scholars whose essays can be found in this book. This collection of essays by “third-wave-identified womanists” includes works by female, male, LGBTQ, straight, black, white, Asian, Christian, and Muslim scholars, as well as members of other religious traditions and some who do not identify with any religious community. These third-wave womanists address a wide array of topics, which include religious pluralism, popular culture, gender and sexuality, and politics.
What I find very helpful within the frame of this manuscript is Coleman's historical review of womanism in the first pages of the text. For those who are new to womanist theological discourse, Coleman introduces the reader to the names of first wavers such as Alice Walker, Katie Cannon, Delores Williams, and Jacquelyn Grant, as well as second wavers, including Chikwenye Ogunyemi (African womanism) and Clenora Hudson Weems (Africana womanism). Coleman describes how the second-wave scholars took “the initiatives of the first wave and extrapolate[d] them into descriptive and constructive work within its field” (14).
After this history lesson, the author introduces the reader to new voices in womanist theological discourse. Coleman argues that these third wavers have begun to focus less on the identity of the scholar and more on the ideology of the scholarship. For her the question becomes, “Does a womanist have to be a black female religious scholar?” She answers this question by including contributors to this volume who are male and white as well as female and Asian. This inclusion can be unsettling for many who have journeyed in their research with the understanding of womanist as a black woman of color. At the same time, if one focuses on the scholarship within the discourse, the question can become, “Why not?”
Scholars who teach religion and theology in a Catholic university or seminary context should be aware that many aspects of this book may be considered in conflict with Catholic teaching. This is of particular note in the essays dealing with sexuality, as well as those dealing with politics. Several of these essays use language that may appear harsh to some, but it is probably language that is not uncommon or unfamiliar to the students in the classroom. It is also important to note that university professors regularly encounter students who are struggling with identity issues focused on their sexuality as well as their racial, ethnic, and political identity. This book may be helpful as a gateway for dialogue on some of these sensitive issues.
