Theology Underground
Theology Underground is a series of guided conversations about how culture, identity, and race impact the way we live out our faith and beliefs. Meetings are held at the dates below from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity in the Bryan Center.
Each month, the program engages with a different cultural community and learns about their unique and creative ways of imagining God and living out their faith. Campus partners across various identities will serve as conversation partners. Light refreshments provided.
To learn more or to RSVP to have dinner provided at a meeting, contact the Rev. Racquel Gill, the Chapel's minister for intercultural engagement.
2023 Fall Semester Dates and Topics
September 12 — I Talk to God in Public: The Holy in Hip Hop
with special guest Dr. Mark Anthony Neal, chair of Duke's Department of African and African American Studies
October 10 — I Talk to God and My Therapist Too: Theology and Mental Health
with special guest Dr. AY Bryant, a psychologist with Duke CAPS
November 14 — I Talk to God and I Love My Frat Too: Being Christian in a Greek Lettered Organization
with special guest Juwan Jacobs, an assistant director with Duke Student Affairs Student Involvement & Leadership, and members of Duke's National Pan-Hellenic Council
2022–2023 Topics and Texts
In the 2022–2023 academic year, we held discussions with thirteen emerging and experienced theologians and practitioners around the intersections of faith, identity, and culture. Below are the texts that our guest facilitators lifted up as suggestions for further education and deeper engagement. We look forward to continuing these conversations and are grateful for all who contributed to our Theology Underground Booklist.
Latinx and Murejista Theologies
- Mujerista Theology Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz
- Reading the Bible from the Margins by Miguel De La Torre
Queer Theologies and Spiritualities
- Trans-Forming Proclamation: A Transgender Theology of Daring Existence by Liam M Hooper
- Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians by Austen Hartke
Native and Indigenous Theologies and Spiritualities
- As We Have Always Done by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson.
- Spirit and Resistance by George Tinker
The Theology of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Why We Can’t Wait by Martin Luther King Jr.
- Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Washington Thurman
Black Liberation Theology
- The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Hal Cone
- The Way of the Black Messiah by Theo Witvliet
Womanist Theological Ethics and Black Feminism
- Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk by Delores S. Williams
- All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks
Asian American and Pacific Islander Theologies and Spiritualities
- From A Liminal Place: An Asian American Theology by Sang Hyun Lee
- Doing Asian American Theology: A Contextual Framework for Faith and Practice by Daniel D. Lee