Troubling (Public) Theologies

Book excerpt: Theologies, no matter their designations, are public measures—they disclose as well as gauge the publics (near and far) on which they stand, sit, lie, or fall. Because publics shift and mingle, theologies require reimagining, relocating, and embracing fresh insights and energies. The insights and energies embraced in this work are in three clusters: spaces, bodies, and technologies. The spotlighted spaces are in Africa, Asia, Black America, the Caribbean, and Pasifika—beyond the eyes of mainline theologies; the privileged bodies have survived, with scars from empire and missionary positionings; and the welcomed technologies include Dalit, indigenous, art, poetry, cyborg, and the novel. This collection is troubling in several ways: first, reimagining and relocating are troubling acts upon their subject matter—here, public theologies. On that note, what theology is not public? Second, this work takes theologies in general, and not just the theologies that carry the “public” designation, to be public theologies. Third, this work takes theologies in general to be inherently troubling. In other words, theologies that are not troubling are not public enough.