Brown Theology: Toward a Perspective of Chicana/o Christian History and Identity

Despite the importance of religion to the Latino community, a dearth of Chicano/Latino Studies literature exists on the topic. For example, a review of all publications from Aztlán: A Journal of Chicana/o Studies from 1970... [ view full abstract ]

Despite the importance of religion to the Latino community, a dearth of Chicano/Latino Studies literature exists on the topic. For example, a review of all publications from Aztlán: A Journal of Chicana/o Studies from 1970 to 2014, reveals very few articles directly dealing with religion as the main topic of examination. Moreover, curricular offerings on the role of religion in Latino communities is also quite limited throughout the nation. This paper explores the role of religion in key moments of Mexican American history such as Operation Wetback, the Chicano civil rights movement, and the Sanctuary movement of the 1980’s. Drawing from Critical Race Theory and notions of community cultural wealth, I argue that faith has served as an important, but much overlooked source of “spiritual capital” for the Chicano/Latino community. From Bartolomé de las Casas, to Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, to the iconic civil rights movement of César Chavez, to the sanctuary movement of the 1980’s, and the contemporary immigration reform movement, spiritual capital has been a central component of Latino community cultural wealth. As such, it merits significant study within the field of Latina/o Studies. In the spirit of “undisciplinarity,” this paper bridges the typically disparate disciplines of Chicano/Latino Studies, Latino history, Liberation Theology, Religious Studies, and Critical Race Theory.

In virtually every instance of racial and social injustice in Latin America and the United States over the centuries, Latinos have challenged the religious, socio-economic, and political status quo on the basis of religion. It is my contention that these many Latino social justice advocates over the past 500 years form what may be called the Brown Church. Collectively, the Brown Church has challenged such great evils as the Spanish Conquest and Spanish colonialism, the “sistema de castas,” Manifest Destiny and U.S. settler colonialism in the Southwest, Latin American dictatorships, U.S. imperialism in Central America, the oppression of farmworkers, and the current exploitation and marginalization of undocumented immigrants. Moreoer, as a natural outgrowth of its religious advocacy efforts, the Brown Church has developed a unique and systematic body of religious teachings which may be called “Brown Theology.”