Abstracts Category : Other

Faith, hope,and the poor : the theological ideas and moral vision ofJean-Bertrand aristide

by Celucien Joseph

The objective of this research is to examine thetheological ideas and moral vision of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, andto explore how his theology (and theological hermeneutics andethics) has influenced his politics of solidarity and socialactivism on behalf of the oppressed and the poor in Haiti inparticular, and the wretched of the earth, in general. Through theuse of the postcolonial, decolonial, and Liberation Theologyparadigms as hermeneutical and theoretical methods ofinvestigation, the project seeks to answer a threefold question:what is the relationship between theology and social activism andtransformation in the thought and writings of Jean-BertrandAristide? What is the place and function of the community of faith,the poor, the oppressed, hope, and human liberation in thepolitical theology of Jean-Bertrand Aristide? What is the place of(defensive) violence in Aristides theology? Our goal in thisscholarly investigation is an attempt to provide an answer to thesedaunting questions above and to explore more fully andintelligently the theology of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Thispresent study considers Aristides democratic and social justiceprojects and theological reflections and theological intersectionsin the disciplines of theological anthropology, theological ethics,and political theology, as he himself engages all foursimultaneously. The doctoral thesis locates Aristides thought andwritings within Black intellectual tradition both in continentalAfrica and the African Diaspora. It establishes shared intellectualideas and parallelisms, and strong ideological connections betweenAristide and Black theologians and thinkers in both continentalAfrica and the African Diaspora. On one hand, Aristidesintellectual ideas and political activism should be understood inthe context of the struggle for democracy in Haiti; on the otherhand, it is suggested the intellectual articulations andpropositions of these Black and African thinkers aim at a commonvision: the project to make our world new toward the common good. While we do not undermine the problem of violence in Aristidestheology and political program in the context of Haitian history,the doctoral thesis argues that Aristides theological anthropologyis a theology of reciprocity and mutuality, and correspondingly,his theological ethics is grounded in the theory of radicalinteractionality, interconnectedness, and interdependence, and theSouth African humanism of Ubuntu. It also contends that Aristidespromotion of a theology of popular violence and aggression in theHaitian society should be understood as a cathartic mechanism anddefensive violence aimed at defending the Haitian masses againstthe Duvalier regime and their oppressors.Advisors/Committee Members: Vellem, Vuyani Shadrack (advisor).