Emancipation Still Comin'

The Caribbean awash with sun and water is a meeting place of many races religions and cultures. There North and South Latin and Anglo native Carib African black French and English white races and cultures meet. In a religious melting pot Protestant and Catholic Christian Afro-Caribbean Hindu and secularist faiths intertwine cross-pollinate and go their ways separate yet together in the divine milieu. Such a place has a rich and revealing story to tell: of history nature and humanity; of the understanding of freedom; of the meaning and scope of theology itself. The key in Caribbean society with its experiences of slavery colonialism neocolonialism and structural dependence is emancipation: the pursuit proclamation and practice of human freedom. Emancipation is the key to Caribbean theology as well. This is the focal point of Kortright Daviss work. He introduces the complex tapestry of this unique society: its social and cultural pluralism its particular strengths and weaknesses: poverty dependence alienation and divisiveness. Davis explores many aspects of Caribbean religion and spirituality especially the complexities of carnival and its uniquely African soul. He notes too a theological dependency and posits again a unique Caribbean emancipatory theology to establish a theological self-reliance. In emancipatory theology as in Latin American liberation theology the source for praxis and reflection is faith linked to historical experience. And the Caribbean experience of continual struggle for identity distinguishes and yet unites Caribbean Christians with Christians everywhere. Deeply concerned with the historical and cultural contexts of theology Professor Davis has developed a provocative argument that the reconstruction of Caribbean society and its spiritual integrity will be postponed until the emancipatory dimensions of its religious expression are embraced by the regions diverse constituencies. This is an important book. --Michael R. Winston President Alfred Harcourt Foundation Professor Davids profound scholarship in church history and liturgy provides a sure foundation for his perceptive and well-researched assessment of the impact of the church on Caribbean society. Emancipation Still Comin not only recounts the role of the church it examines with sensitivity and candor the varied strands that are woven into the fabric of Caribbean life. The authors lucid and lively style make his monograph all the more readable and further enhances its value as source-material for the study of the Caribbean. --Sir William Douglas Ambassador of Barbados Kortright Davis an Anglican priest was born in Antigua. He was one of the Archbishop of Canterburys members on the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission II and is Professor of Theology at Howard University School of Divinity.