African American Religious Naturalism and the Question of the Human

In the contemporary era, religious naturalism features a synthesis of ideas and viewpoints that depart from traditional forms of religion. These theoretical convictions foreground a model of African American religious naturalism that addresses issues of justice for myriad aspects of nature. This chapter outlines a trajectory of humanistic thinking in the West that provides the backdrop for this model of African American religious naturalism. It discusses some of its central claims, introducing the sacred humanity concept and some reflections on its value in American culture and life. Historically, the symbol God has functioned in African American religious culture to affirm the value of black humanity as well as the fact that all humans share in the same ontological reality as other humans. African American religious naturalism casts aside problematic bifurcations of human materiality cast in racial and ethnic terms that often result in an "us-versus-them" mentality.