Caribbean Christian Theology: A Bibliography

By Juliany González Nieves

Recently, I found myself among a group of Puerto Rican seminarians, who are studying and doing ministry in the “isla grande.”[1] They had come together to take a summer course on history and theology at a local seminary, and although their required readings were almost exclusively written by people of color, an issue of identity, distance, and contextualization emerged. The Puerto Rican context is significantly different from the USA mainland context. Therefore, theologies done by USA Latinx theologians are often incredibly foreign and at times irrelevant to our realities, those of a 500-year-old colony, a territory full of people living in-between.

As a way of addressing this issue, I have compiled a brief bibliography on Christian Caribbean theology. It is by no means exhaustive, and it does not include all the published works of scholars currently residing in the Caribbean. But I hope it helps promote a conversation about theology and identity among Christians living in this region. Furthermore, I hope it brings attention to the work done by Caribbean Christian scholars.

In terms of the selection process, the main criterion was an explicit focus on the Caribbean region and Christian theology. The latter explains why the works of significant theologians such as Dr. Samuel Solivan and Dr. Jules A. Martínez-Olivieri were not included, while Teresa Delgado’s book was, even when she does not reside in the Caribbean. Furthermore, it should be noted that the bibliography is limited when it comes to the inclusion of the French, Dutch, and Créole-speaking Caribbean because I do not read those languages. Lastly, I have limited the bibliography to books, rather than also including articles, etc. Nevertheless, I have made two exceptions in order to include an excellent entry on Caribbean theology by Dr. Agustina Luvis Núñez, and two book chapters written by Cuban theologian Dr. Clara Luz Ajo Lázaro.

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Ajo Lázaro, Clara Luz. “Diversity in the Anglican Tradition: Women and the Afro-Caribbean Church.” In Anglican Women on Church and Mission. Edited by Kwok Pui-lan, Judith A. Berling, and Jenny Plane Te Paa. Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 2012.

__________________. “Jesus and Mary Dance with the Orishas: Theological Elements in Interreligious Dialogue.” In Hope Abundant: Third World and Indigenous Women’s Theology. Edited by Kwok Pui-lan. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2010.

Aristide, Jean-Bertrand. In the Parish of the Poor: Writings from Haiti. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1990.

Davis, Kortright. Emancipation Still Comin’: Explorations in Caribbean Emancipatory Theology. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1990.

Delgado, Teresa. A Puerto Rican Decolonial Theology: Prophesy Freedom. Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.

Edmonds, Ennis B. and Michelle A. González. Caribbean Religious History: An Introduction. New York: New York University Press, 2010.

Erskine, Noel Leo. Decolonizing Theology: A Caribbean Perspective. Africa World Press, 1998.

González, Michelle A. Afro-Cuban Theology: Religion, Race, Culture, and Identity. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida, 2006.

Grano de Oro Smith, Samuel A. Los hechos del Espíritu Santo: Perspectiva caribeña de la obra del Espíritu en el Siglo XXI. Santo Domingo, República Dominicana: Editorial Letra Gráfica, 2002.

Gregory, Howard. Caribbean Theology: Preparing for the Challenges Ahead. Kingston, Jamaica: Canoe Press University of the West Indies, 1995.

Hood, Robert E. Must God Remain Greek? Afro Cultures and God-Talk. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990.

Luvis Núñez, Agustina. “Caribbean Theology.” In Global Dictionary of Theology: A Resource for the Worldwide Church. Edited by William A. Dyrness and Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008: 133-136.

Miller, Michael St. A. Reshaping the Contextual Vision in Caribbean Theology: Theoretical Foundations for Theology Which Is Contextual, Pluralistic, and Dialectical. Maryland: University Press of America, Inc., 2007.

Mitchell, David I., ed. With Eyes Wide Open: A Collection of Papers by Caribbean Scholars on Caribbean Christian Concerns. Barbados: CADEC, 1973.

Mulrain, George. Caribbean Theological Insights: Exploring Theological Themes within the Context of the Caribbean Region. Blessed Hope Publishing, 2014.

Pagán, Luis N. Rivera. Ensayos teológicos desde el Caribe. Ediciones Callejón, 2013.

Perkins, Anna Kasafi, Donald Chambers, and Jacqueline Porter, eds. Justice and Peace in a Renewed Caribbean: Contemporary Catholic Reflections. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.

Pérez Álvarez, Eliseo. The Gospel to the Calypsonians: The Caribbean, Bible and Liberation Theology. El Faro, 2004.

Reid-Salmon, Delroy A. Home Away from Home: The Caribbean Diasporan Church in the Black Atlantic Tradition. Oakville: Equinox Publishing Ltd., 2008.

Rodríguez, José David. Introducción a la teología. México, D. F.: Publicaciones El Faro, 2002.

Roper, Garnett and J. Richard Middleton, eds. A Kairos Moment for Caribbean Theology: Ecumenical Voices in Dialogue. Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications, 2013.

Roper, Garnett. Caribbean Theology as Public Theology. Kingston, Jamaica: 2012.

Sánchez, Susana. Más allá del púlpito: La pastoral compasiva de la Iglesia. Un grito de sufrimiento y un signo de esperanza: Una pastoral caribeña con ojos de mujer para el siglos XXI. Santo Domingo, República Dominicana: Editorial Letra Gráfica, 2003.

Williams, Lewin L. Caribbean Theology. New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc., 1994.

Towards a More Catholic Theologizing

For some reason, discussions and courses on Majority World theologies frequently exclude the work of theologians in the Caribbean. My hope is that as we are able to dig deeper and witness the work of the Global Church, we will move towards a more catholic theologizing, which takes seriously and promotes theological scholarship in this region of the world.

More in This Series

This post is part of a series we are running profiling female theologians from all over the globe — see our other articles in this series:

Series Editor: Graham Joseph Hill

Stephanie A. Lowery, “9 African Women Theologians You Should Know About”

Emmanuella Carter, “17 African American Women Theologians you Should Know About”

Graham Joseph Hill and Jen Barker, “20 Australian and New Zealander Female Theologians You Should Get to Know in 2020”

Graham Joseph Hill and Jen Barker, “160+ Australian and New Zealander Women in Theology You Should Know About”

Juliany González Nieves, “23 Latin American Women and USA Latinas in Theology and Religion You Should Know About”

Grace Al-Zoughbi Arteen and Graham Joseph Hill, “18 Arab Female Theologians and Christian Leaders You Should Know About”

Jessie Giyou Kim and Graham Joseph Hill, “18 Asian Female Theologians You Should Know About (Plus Others For You To Explore)”

Graham Joseph Hill and Jessie Giyou Kim, “12 Women on Changing the World: A 12-Session Film Series on Transforming Society and Neighborhoods”

Juliany González Nieves, “Caribbean Christian Theology: A Bibliography”

 Juliany González Nieves is an evangélica Puerto Rican student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois. Before beginning her Master in Divinity, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology at the University of Puerto Rico. Born and raised in the island, Juliany started serving the church in Puerto Rico at a very young age. She has also participated in short-term mission trips to Dominican Republic and Ecuador. Her areas of interest include systematic theology, discipleship, narrative theology, Latin American theology, feminist theology, and missiology. She hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology and become a professor one day, serving in Latin America and the United States. You can follow her on social media and read her blog De vuelta a lo básico. 

Cover Image: Photograph by Alexander Kunze.

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