Black Humanism in Relation To Other Religious Traditions
Throughout his work, Pinn refers to his approach to humanism as a “religion.” In so doing, Pinn cites humanist Gordon Kaufman’s definition of religion as “that which helps humans find orientation ‘for life in the world, together with motivation for living and acting in accordance with this orientation.’” In other words, for Pinn, religion need not be theistic.
In Why Lord?, Pinn’s humanism “involves an increase in humanity’s importance which makes impossible the location of a space for God.” He continues, “Religious answers to life’s meaninglessness promote an embracing of suffering which reinforces life’s meaninglessness rather than ending it.” In other work, however, Pinn moderates this claim. In a 1997 essay, Pinn describes humanism as another contribution to the plurality of religious traditions. In Varieties of African American Religious Experience (1999), he acknowledges that “the needs of various human communities are complex and varied enough to allow for a plurality of religious traditions.” In a 2002 interview, Pinn states that the Black Church, although in crisis, “has tremendous potential” for addressing the social justice issues that affect African Americans. Although Pinn’s work reaches into non-Christian sources of theology, much of his academic focus remains centered on the history and theology of the African-American Christian Church.
Importantly, Pinn differentiates Black humanism from other non-theistic worldviews such as atheism. Citing the work of Jean-Paul Sartre and Richard Wright, Pinn notes that Black humanism has no interest in disproving the existence of God. Rather, it is “not overly concerned with God as a negative myth, but rather God as a liberating myth that is nonetheless unsubstantiated.” Thus, oppressed African Americans need not waste their time disproving God’s existence, but are simply better off seeking their liberation with the human tools of “desire for transformation, human creativity, physical strength, and untapped collective potential.” This “full human potential” is capable of analyzing and working to rectify problems of oppression in the African-American community.
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