Authenticity and Christian Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible (Theological) Knapsack

In 2020, Amy-Jill Levine challenged the Society of Christian Ethics to take Christian privilege seriously. But Christian ethicists generally neglect Christian privilege as a distinct type. One site for Christian privilege is the ideal of authenticity, which grew from the idea that Christianity repre...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Haring, James W. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Philosophy Documentation Center 2023
In: Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics
Year: 2023, Volume: 43, Issue: 2, Pages: 381-398
RelBib Classification:BH Judaism
CA Christianity
KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history
NCC Social ethics
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Summary:In 2020, Amy-Jill Levine challenged the Society of Christian Ethics to take Christian privilege seriously. But Christian ethicists generally neglect Christian privilege as a distinct type. One site for Christian privilege is the ideal of authenticity, which grew from the idea that Christianity represents love, interiority, and spirituality (spirit), while Judaism represents legalism, exteriority, and materiality (letter). By prioritizing “spirit” over “letter,” an isolated ethic of authenticity can detach moral identity from history, race, community, land, and other seemingly extrinsic factors. I draw on Willie James Jennings and Daniel Boyarin to illustrate authenticity’s exclusionary potential and Moses Mendelssohn to construct a more inclusive ideal.
ISSN:2326-2176
Contains:Enthalten in: Society of Christian Ethics, Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.5840/jsce20241289