Alice Walker's Influence on Womanist Theology

Summary Alice Walkers Influence on Womanist Theology: A Minority Response by Gladys J. Willis Ph. D. This short book consists of five chapters. Chapter I The Origin of the Idea introduces the womanist theology idea as having its origin in Alice Walkers definitions of the womanist in her book entitled In Search of Our Mothers Gardens. Chapter II Stages in the Development of the Womanist Character provides a detailed analysis of the key female protagonists in The Third Life of Grange Copeland and in The Color Purple as examples of Walkers womanist. Chapter III The Womanist Idea in Christian Theology presents the thinking of several key womanist theologians - Jacqueline Grant Delores S. Williams Kelley Delaine Brown-Douglass Cheryl Townsend Gilkes and Renita J. Weems. Chapter 4 Toward a New Hermeneutical Approach offers an alternative hermeneutical approach to that of womanist theology. Chapter V Appendix is to this book what Frederick Douglass Appendix is to his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass as it further clarifies the authors perspective of racism sexism and classism in the world and in the Black church. The author proposes that womanist theologians who choose to adopt Alice Walkers womanist idea rather than the Bible as the basis for defining a womanist theology are in opposition to orthodox Christian theology.