Intimate Life Together: a Decolonial Theology by Michelle Wolff
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Intimate Life Together: A Decolonial Theology by Michelle Wolff Graduate Program in Religion Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Willie Jennings, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ J. Kameron Carter, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Mary McClintock-Fulkerson ___________________________ Robyn Wiegman ___________________________ Danai Mupotsa Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate Program in Religion in the Graduate School of Duke University 2017 ABSTRACT Intimate Life Together: A Decolonial Theology by Michelle Wolff Graduate Program in Religion Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Willie Jennings, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ J. Kameron Carter, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Mary McClintock-Fulkerson ___________________________ Robyn Wiegman ___________________________ Danai Mupotsa An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate Program in Religion in the Graduate School of Duke University 2017 Copyright by Michelle Wolff 2017 Abstract Disease metaphors dominate Christian theological discourses that equate sex with sin. When Christianity is imagined to “cure” sexuality, religious communities push out those members who are perceived to threaten the health of the social body. Progressive policy might give the impression that sexual liberation is best realized when disentangled from religion. Post-apartheid, democratic South Africa serves as a test case because it boasts having implemented some of the most progressive policies on sexuality. However, its groundbreaking laws have not curbed the country’s high rate of hate crimes, which largely target LGBTIQ citizens. In order to account for this dissonance, I elucidate the shortcomings of both progressive policy and theology before offering a constructive alternative. This project requires a transnational, interdisciplinary methodology that integrates Christian theology, critical theory, biblical theology, and fieldwork. The first three chapters critique theological and political attempts to “cure” sexuality in exchange for salvation and citizenship. These include the rhetoric of “cure” in hate crimes in present day South Africa, the coerced aversion therapy and sex reassignment surgeries performed to “cure” conscripts during apartheid, and the legalization of same-sex marriage during the transition to democracy. In conclusion, I propose that a decolonial theology based on the notion of Christ as contagion displays the meaning and purpose of baptism for costly discipleship and intimate life together. iv Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ......................................................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................. viii 1. Introduction: Christianity as “Cure” ................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Pathologizing the Personal & Political .................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Theology & Theory ........................................................................................................................................ 12 1.4 Methods ............................................................................................................................................................... 17 1.5 Outline of Dissertation ................................................................................................................................. 30 1.6 Author’s Social Location .............................................................................................................................. 33 1.7 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................................... 35 2. Chapter One: Baptism by Drowning: “Curative” Rape for the Queer Threat ...................... 38 2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 38 2.2 The South African Context ......................................................................................................................... 42 2.3 The Limitations of Human Rights Rhetoric ..................................................................................... 46 2.4 Essentializing Africans: Smith, Mbeki, & Pereira .......................................................................... 50 2.5 The Role of Religion ..................................................................................................................................... 57 2.6 Limitations of the Legal System .............................................................................................................. 59 2.6.1 Mandatory Minimums ..................................................................................................................... 59 2.6.2 Jacob Zuma’s Acquittal ................................................................................................................... 60 2.7 Baptism by Drowning: The Sins of Propriety Committed Against the Unnamed Concubine in the Book of Judges ................................................................................................................... 66 2.8 Conclusion: Sickness and Health, Life and Death ......................................................................... 77 3. Chapter Two: Transfigurations: Sex Reassignment, Gender Alignment or Revelation? .... 82 3.1 Introduction: Sally Gross ............................................................................................................................. 82 3.2 The State of Gender ....................................................................................................................................... 86 3.3 Medical Ethics: Sex-Reassignment and Aversion Therapy, a Theocratic “Cure” .......... 91 3.4 Jesus Christ’s Transfiguration ............................................................................................................... 100 3.4.1 Cloud, Cloak, & Christ .................................................................................................................. 102 3.5 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................... 112 4. Chapter Three: The Bride of Christ: Marriage, Citizenship, & Salvation ........................... 118 4.1 Introduction: Intimate Life Together ................................................................................................. 118 4.2 Same-Sex Marriage in South Africa ..................................................................................................... 119 4.3 Radical Reordering or Circling Back? ............................................................................................... 134 4.4 Christian Marriage ....................................................................................................................................... 138 4.5 For the Bible Tells Me So ........................................................................................................................ 145 4.6 A Decolonial Theology of Sexuality .................................................................................................... 159 4.7 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................... 164 5. Chapter Four: Christ as Contagion: Decolonial Intimate Life Together ............................ 166 5.1 Introduction: Contagion ........................................................................................................................... 166 5.2 “Together-Touching” ................................................................................................................................ 169 v 5.3 Father & Son: Karl Bonhoeffer’s Medical Ethics ......................................................................... 172 5.4 Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The Sick & Christ ........................................................................................... 178 5.5 Christological Relationality ..................................................................................................................... 184 5.6 The Freedom of a Christian .................................................................................................................... 196 5.7 Queering Kinship: Baptism & Galatians 3-4 .................................................................................. 202 5.8 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................................