Willie James Jennings (born April 29, 1961) is an American

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, known for his contributions on liberation theologies, cultural identities, and theological anthropology. He is currently an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics ...

and

Africana studies Black studies or Africana studies (with nationally specific terms, such as African American studies and Black Canadian studies), is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of ...

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

Career

Jenning gained his B.A. in religion and theology at

Calvin College Calvin University, formerly Calvin College, is a private Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1876, Calvin University is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reforme ...

in 1984, and his M.Div in

Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an Evangelical seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller has a student body of approximately 2,300 students from 90 countries and ...

in 1987. He completed his Ph.D. in religion, with a concentration on theology and ethics, at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

in 1993, supervised under

Geoffrey Wainwright Geoffrey Wainwright (1939 – 17 March 2020) was an English theologian. He spent much of his career in the United States and taught at Duke Divinity School. Wainwright made major contributions to modern Methodist theology and Christian liturgy, ...

. His Ph.D. dissertation topic is "Reclaiming the Creature: Anthropological Vision in the Thought of

Athanasius of Alexandria Athanasius I of Alexandria ( – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, Athanasius the Confessor, or, among Coptic Christians, Athanasius the Apostolic, was a Christian theologian and the 20th patriarch of Alexandria (as Athanasius ...

and

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Decl ...

." From 1990 to 2015, Jennings worked at

Duke University Divinity School The Duke Divinity School at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, is one of ten graduate or professional schools within Duke University. It is also one of thirteen seminaries founded and supported by the United Methodist Church. It has 39 re ...

and taught theology and black church studies there, before he was appointed associate professor of systematic theology and Africana studies at Yale in 2015. He is an ordained

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

minister and has served as interim pastor for several

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

churches.

Writings

In 2010,

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...

published Jennings's ''The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race''. The book is a study of the circumstances and theology precipitating Christian participation in racism and colonialism. ''Syndicate'' editor-in-chief Christian Amondson considered it a "bold, creative, and courageous critique" of

supersessionism Supersessionism, also called replacement theology by its detractors and fulfillment theology by its proponents, is the Christian theology, Christian doctrine that the Christian Church has superseded the Israelites, Jewish people, assuming Jews a ...

and its entanglement in socially constructed ideas about race.

Carroll College Carroll College is a private Catholic college in Helena, Montana. The college has 21 buildings on a 63-acre campus, has over 35 academic majors, participates in 15 NAIA athletic sports, and is home to All Saints Chapel. The college motto, in L ...

professor Eric Dayl Meyer called the book "a significant contribution to academic theology". For writing ''The Christian Imagination'', Jennings received the

American Academy of Religion The American Academy of Religion (AAR) is the world's largest association of scholarly method, scholars in the List of academic disciplines, field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association, serving as a profess ...

's 2011 award for the best book in constructive theology and the 2015

Grawemeyer Award The Grawemeyer Awards () are five awards given annually by the University of Louisville. The prizes are presented to individuals in the fields of education, ideas improving world order, music composition, religion, and psychology. The religion awa ...

in Religion. In 2017, the Belief Bible commentary series released Jennings's ''Acts: A Theological Commentary on the Bible'', a volume the journal ''Horizons'' called "musical and aesthetically charged" and recommended to scholars of race and

postcolonialism Postcolonialism (also post-colonial theory) is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic consequences of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and extractivism, exploitation of colonized pe ...

Selected works

*
The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race
'' New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2010. *
Acts: A Theological Commentary on the Bible
'. Westminster John Knox Press, 2017. *
After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging
'. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman's Press, 2020.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Willie James Living people 1961 births Calvin University alumni Fuller Theological Seminary alumni Duke University alumni Duke University faculty Yale Divinity School faculty Systematic theologians African-American biblical scholars African-American religious leaders African-American theologians Baptist ministers from the United States 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics

Career

Writings

Selected works

See also

References

Sources