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Christian Theology and Rehabilitation from Human Trafficking Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Dissertations (1934 -) Projects Beyond Slavery: Christian Theology and Rehabilitation from Human Trafficking Christopher Michael Gooding Marquette University Follow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu Part of the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Gooding, Christopher Michael, "Beyond Slavery: Christian Theology and Rehabilitation from Human Trafficking" (2019). Dissertations (1934 -). 881. https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/881 BEYOND SLAVERY: CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY AND REHABILITATION FROM HUMAN TRAFFICKING by Chris Gooding, B.A., M.T.S. A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin August 2019 ABSTRACT BEYOND SLAVERY: CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY AND REHABILITATION FROM HUMAN TRAFFICKING Chris Gooding, B.A., M.T.S. Marquette University, 2019 Is there life beyond slavery? In the past 20 years, there has been a significant increase in research related to human trafficking. However, very little of it has examined the ethical issues that survivors face as they attempt to reintegrate back into society, or that aftercare workers face as they attempt to assist survivors in the reintegration process. And there has been almost nothing written on how the tools of moral and political theology might offer insight into these issues. This dissertation attempts to begin to address this gap in the literature. In order to assess what the nature of these ethical issues are, a series of interviews were conducted with survivors of human trafficking (both bonded labor and sex trafficking) and professionals providing assistance to survivors in Chennai and Mumbai. From these interviews, six topics arose that were germane to analysis using the tools of moral and political theology: (1) the nature of slavery itself, (2) captive mentality and the desire to return to enslavement, (3) the ethics of institutionalizing survivors, (4) housing, singleness, and family, (5) labor and caste, and (6) justice for perpetrators who were at one point trafficked themselves. Each of these six issues receives its own chapter-length treatment, and each makes a series of recommendations for NGOs (and especially Christian NGOs) working with trafficking survivors. Chapter 1 utilizes a New Testament theology of the Powers to analyze slavery’s continued pull on survivors, even after emancipation. Chapter 2 concludes that the institution of slavery contains implicit conceptions of the nature of love, justice, and God, and that programs for survivors must address these claims. Chapter 3 looks at the theology behind the methods of monastic and prison discipline used in institutional aftercare for sex trafficking survivors. Chapter 4 examines the theologies of singleness and family that are operative in NGOs and housing associations in Mumbai. Chapter 5 offers a theology of civil disobedience as a way to begin to address labor problems based in caste discrimination. And chapter 6 suggests a restorative justice rubric for dealing with offenders who are themselves survivors of human trafficking. i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Chris Gooding, B.A., M.T.S. Given the fact that this project involved fifty-four interviews and a trip all the way across the world, the number of debts I owe to those who helped make this research possible is substantial. A book in and of itself could be written to catalog the recognition that others deserve on this project, so I will try to keep things as brief as I can. Thanks first of all go to all of my interviewees for being willing to provide the information that makes up the core of this project. Some interviewees even did more than sit for an interview. “Beth” laid the groundwork for the project in India. Her initial work was crucial during the proposal stage of this project. “Mallika” was kind enough to offer up her assistant, who coordinated a considerable chunk of my interviews in Mumbai. “Chitra” also helped establish a number of interview contacts, and helped me to get settled when I initially arrived in Mumbai. Thanks especially go to “Hannah,” who likely invested more hours to this project than any other interviewee. She deserves credit for coordinating basically all of the interviews that occurred in Chennai. She also had by far the quickest turnaround of any of my NGO reviewers, and her constructive feedback (and effusive praise) on initial drafts was extremely helpful. Since my competency in Hindi is limited and my competency in Tamil is nonexistent, this project also relied on a number of translators in order to make it possible. Thanks to Sunita Khursule, Mona Almeida, Muriella D’Silva, and “Auntie” Jai and “Auntie” Hoofritz for serving as translators for my Hindi-speaking survivors. Thanks to Aryan Timothy for serving as a translator for my Tamil-speaking survivors. All of my translators took to the work with such an impressive combination of exuberance and tact that it made speaking with survivors about potentially difficult topics considerably easier. As I mention in Chapter 4, I have experienced struggles with housing discrimination every time I have lived in Mumbai. Such struggles would have likely posed an obstacle to research if it weren’t for the amazing people at NLF Avatar Church in Mumbai. Thanks to Ara Daquinag and Michelle Bishop for allowing me to crash on their couch initially, Jimit and Hannah Mehta, Ishan Gupta and Philip for taking me in during periods of transition, and to Noble and Roju Philip for letting me rent a room in their apartment for the long haul. Avatar also served as a very welcoming church home away from home while I was in Mumbai. In the United States, a Mennonite among ii Reformed Evangelicals might be considered an oddity. In Mumbai, I was welcomed with open arms as an opportunity for edifying and lively discussion. Thanks especially to Noble Philip, Ravi Narain, and Erin Arendse for being thoughtful discussion partners. Bharathy Tahiliani and Pranitha Timothy provided much-needed moral support at key times during my research. Both of them are by far the most seasoned professionals in the field of rehabilitation for survivors that I interviewed. And I can’t tell you how much it meant to me that they, in their wisdom and experience, seemed to see the need for this research more than anyone I spoke to about the project. As such, several long conversations with them provided the energy and clarity I needed to push though my time in India. Both also provided extremely insightful interviews that formed key parts of several chapters that follow. Moving from India to Milwaukee, special thanks go to Matthew, Mandy, Izzy, and Emma Bailey. The Baileys have been my housemates and support network for the past four years as I have been writing this dissertation. They have allowed me to occupy a room in their house while contributing what I was able in terms of food and rent money (which was extremely helpful, as I was living below the poverty line for most of my graduate studies). They have also been an important part of the emotional and moral support network that helped me to come to terms with my own calling to singleness. In doing so, they contributed to Chapter 4 in small and invisible, but nonetheless important, ways. Norm and Candy Stolpe were also briefly part of our little wannabe intentional community, and they offered day-to-day support as well. Thanks also go to Pascale and Rodney Mayhorn (our landlords), who have continued to allow all of us to engage in this communal living experiment by providing us with an affordable place to stay. Thanks also go to Milwaukee Mennonite Church for being my church home during the composition of this dissertation. My church continues to impress me with their willingness to help others in ways great and small. Special thanks go to Ray Gingerich, for being a great resource on matters of restorative justice, and to Mandy Bailey, Matthew Bailey, Erin Cassidente, Connie Evers, Ben Hochstedler, Matthew Keiser, Sarah Mast, Rachel Stolpe, and Barb White for transcribing portions of my interviews. Thanks to Russell Johnson and Leatha Miles-Edmonson, who also served as transcriptionists. On the Marquette side of things, thanks go to the folks who oversee the Smith Family Fellowship. The Fellowship gave me the funding I needed to finance this research. Thanks also to the folks who work at the Office of Research Compliance for making sure I conducted my research ethically and giving me pointers on how to go about the business of gathering informed consent. Thanks to Becky Long for helping me iii figure out how to code my interviews. Thanks to all the other doctoral candidates who walked alongside me at Marquette for helping me hone the theological thoughts that appear in these pages. Andy Alexis-Baker, Rick Barry, Christopher Brenna, Glenn Butner, Anne Carpenter, Nick Elder, Darin Fawley, Dallas Flippin, Tim Gabrielson, Joe Gordon, Kirsten Guidero, Chris Hadley, Drew Harmon, Jonathan Heaps, Ryan Hemmer, Darren Henson, David Horstkoetter, Erin Kidd, Dave Kiger, Andrew Kuzma, Nathan Lundsford, Alex Martins, Samantha Miller, Paul Pasquesi, Kyle Potter, Caroline Redick, Lincoln Rice, Jakob Rinderknecht, Gene Schlesinger, Luke Togni, Juli Vazquez, Jeff Walkey, Nathan Willowby, and Dominic Zappia all deserve recognition in this regard. I could not have asked for a better committee. Many, many thanks to Willie Jennings, Steve Long, Bryan Massingale, and Kate Ward. Bryan contributed immensely to my competency in slave theology in the antebellum period, and he served as a great conversation partner for a Mennonite considering a single vocation. Willie is infused with the virtue of joy, and his Slavery and Obedience course was the major inspiration for Chapter 3. Kate is the best advocate a person could hope for.
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