Theology Underground
Theology Underground is a series of guided conversations about how culture, identity, and race impact the way we live out our faith and beliefs. Meetings are held at the dates below from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity in the Bryan Center. Each month, the program engages with a different cultural community and learns about their unique and creative ways of imagining God and living out their faith. Campus partners across various identities will serve as conversation partners. Light refreshments provided.
To learn more or to RSVP to have dinner provided at a meeting, contact the Rev. Racquel Gill, the Chapel's minister for intercultural engagement. Audio recordings will be added below as they become available.
Spring 2024 Dates and Topics
January 23 — I Talk To God In Church and Outside Too: Howard Thurman & Black Mysticism
with special guests Rev. Dr. Dumas Harshaw and Craig Hines from Duke Divinity's Office of Black Church Studies
February 13 — I Talk To God and I Read Malcolm X Too: The Theology of Malcolm X
with special guests Imam Abdul Waheed from the Center for Muslim Life and Rev. Leah Torrey, director of special initiatives at Duke Chapel
March 19 — I Talk to God and My Coach Too: Theology and Sports Culture
with Duke Chapel Intern Max Miller in conversation with Rev. Jay Augustine from the Duke Center for Reconciliation and Rev. Regina Graham from The Fuller Foundation
April 9 — I Talk to God and I Meditate Too: A Conversation with a Baptist and Buddhist
with special guest Rev. Prasert Ammartek, Buddhist Chaplain at Duke
Fall 2023 Topics
I Talk to God in Public: The Holy in Hip Hop
with special guest Dr. Mark Anthony Neal, chair of Duke's Department of African and African American Studies
I Talk to God and My Therapist Too: Theology and Mental Health
with special guest Dr. AY Bryant, a psychologist with Duke CAPS
I Talk to God and I Love My Frat Too: Being Christian in a Greek Lettered Organization
with special guest Juwan Jacobs, an assistant director with Duke Student Affairs Student Involvement & Leadership, and members of Duke's National Pan-Hellenic Council
2022–2023 Topics and Texts
In the 2022–2023 academic year, we held discussions with thirteen emerging and experienced theologians and practitioners around the intersections of faith, identity, and culture. Below are the texts that our guest facilitators lifted up as suggestions for further education and deeper engagement. We look forward to continuing these conversations and are grateful for all who contributed to our Theology Underground Booklist.
Latinx and Murejista Theologies
- Mujerista Theology Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz
- Reading the Bible from the Margins by Miguel De La Torre
Queer Theologies and Spiritualities
- Trans-Forming Proclamation: A Transgender Theology of Daring Existence by Liam M Hooper
- Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians by Austen Hartke
Native and Indigenous Theologies and Spiritualities
- As We Have Always Done by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson.
- Spirit and Resistance by George Tinker
The Theology of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Why We Can’t Wait by Martin Luther King Jr.
- Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Washington Thurman
Black Liberation Theology
- The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Hal Cone
- The Way of the Black Messiah by Theo Witvliet
Womanist Theological Ethics and Black Feminism
- Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk by Delores S. Williams
- All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks
Asian American and Pacific Islander Theologies and Spiritualities
- From A Liminal Place: An Asian American Theology by Sang Hyun Lee
- Doing Asian American Theology: A Contextual Framework for Faith and Practice by Daniel D. Lee