Disruptive Christian Ethics

Bringing to the fore the difficult realities of racism and the sexual violation of women, Traci West argues for a liberative method of Christian social ethics in which the discussion begins not with generic philosophical concepts but in the concrete realities of the lives of the socially and economically marginalized. She writes, “The idea that we’ve ‘moved beyond’ our society’s need for concretely identifying these concerns is a costly lie.”

Presenting conscience-jarring stories of individual women’s experience and endurance of prejudice, violation, and subjugation, West demonstrates how racism can impact key ideas in Christian ethics, influence government policy on welfare, infect public practice, and invade worship. Concluding with hope-filled testimonies of black women ministers and activists confronting heterosexism in their communities, Disruptive Christian Ethics is a virtual toolkit for how to “do” ethics. It enables readers to hone their skills at recognizing racial subjugation and demonstrates how to make the transformation of unjust, marginalizing conditions for women a key criterion for evaluating society’s health.