Though making one’s life’s work the study of religion rarely, if ever, equates to a life of fame and fortune, Dr. Anthony Pinn has made quite a name for himself in theological circles and beyond.
For those who don’t know, Pinn is the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities, professor of religious studies and founding director of the Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning (CERCL) at Rice University.
“I could not accept the idea that the collective suffering of those I saw on a daily basis had any value at all. I needed to explore an alternate response that uncompromisingly affirms—at all costs, including even the rejection of Christian concepts such as God—the demonic nature of collective suffering because human liberation is more important than the maintenance of any religious symbol, sign, cannon, or icon. I could see nothing in history pointing toward the presence of something in the world beyond visible realities.”
Dr. Anthony Pinn
Pinn, who received his BA from Columbia University and Master of Divinity and PhD in the study of religion from Harvard University, is also the author/editor of over 35 books, including The Black Church in the Post-Civil Rights Era (2002); Terror and Triumph: The Nature of Black Religion (2003), Noise and Spirit: Rap Music’s Religious and Spiritual Sensibilities (2004), and the novel, The New Disciples (2015).
And if that weren’t enough, Pinn, whose research interests include religion and culture, liberation theologies, humanism and hip-hop culture, is also director of research for the Institute for Humanist Studies, a Washington DC-based think tank and serves as a trustee of Meadville Lombard Theological School.
Surprisingly, with his laser-focused religious work being done at the university-level, Pinn early on seemed destined for a life leading a church at the community level.
“My formative years were spent within the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church, a part of the Black church tradition,” said Pinn. “At an early age, lay activity was no longer enough; I felt a ‘call’ to Christian ministry, a need to serve the Church through ministerial leadership. I started preaching at the age of 14 and the AME Church ordained me a deacon after my first year in college.”
While in college, Pinn served as a youth pastor in various AME churches and saw firsthand the efforts of Black Christians to make sense of their daily struggles in light of Christian theology and doctrinal structures. That work birthed questions in Pinn.
“Such experiences raised queries for me concerning the tension between lived reality and Christian ‘truths.’ Hard questions became unavoidable: Does the Christian message say anything liberating to a suffering humanity? Do Christian explanations of human suffering make a ‘material and concrete difference?” recalled Pinn.
And being a student of Black history only made for more spiritual wrestling for Pinn.
“Brought here as chattel, African Americans have faced dehumanization through the destruction of culture, the ripping apart of family units, rape, beatings, and any other avenue that linked the control of Black bodies with the increase of plantation profits. All this, Africans Americans were told was rightly done in the name of God.
“Some slaves accepted their lot in life. Others questioned the religious doctrine given to them, and searched for an explanation of their plight beyond the plantation minister’s rhetoric. The effort to understand God amid contradictory messages of existential hardship and the Christian gospel continued during the movement from ‘hush harbors,’ or secret meetings, to early Black churches, and into the late 20th century. Continued oppression made this questioning inescapable,” shared Pinn.
The understanding of human suffering taught and preached to Black people for generations, i.e. the idea that as we continue the struggle for our freedom we will be persecuted and abused, yet we must go on with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive, and love is the most durable power in all the world, troubled Pinn.
“I could not accept the idea that the collective suffering of those I saw on a daily basis had any value at all,” he recalled. “I needed to explore an alternate response that uncompromisingly affirms—at all costs, including even the rejection of Christian concepts such as God—the demonic nature of collective suffering because human liberation is more important than the maintenance of any religious symbol, sign, cannon or icon. I could see nothing in history pointing toward the presence of something in the world beyond visible realities.”
This awakening led to a bold move that defined the courage and direction of Pinn’s theological work.
“After taking a deep breath, I spoke a new word: God does not exist. Even with this confession made, I was still committed to doing theology, but without reliance on notions of God. I would do theology as a humanist. . . . I continued my work with this commitment: Religious questions can surely be posed without the assumption of God.”
So, how does a theologian who does not assume the reality of God do theology?
One way is to center humanism, which is defined as “an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters.”
Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems.
“It seems fairly clear that the early presence and rationale for humanism within African American communities revolve around the inadequacy of Christianity for responding to moral evil. Humanism, in turn, gives more attention to humanity’s responsibility for evil in the world, hence humanity’s responsibility for re-orienting human destiny and fostering equality,” said Pinn.
Pinn highlights figures such as Frederick Douglass, Zora Neale Hurston and W. E. B. DuBois among other notables. He also centers various time periods like the Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Movement (i.e. SNCC, the Black Panthers, etc.) and more as examples of how Blacks have used humanism as a vehicle for pushing back against oppressive forces.
“I said there is no God with conviction, yet sensitivity, and thought about other ways of holding humans in moral/ethical ‘check’: do not hurt others because they deserve respect and proper care,” shared Pinn.
Some reject the notion that humanism should have a place in theological discussions. However, no less than the person considered the “Father of Black Liberation Theology,” the late Reverend Albert B. Cleage Jr., co-signed Pinn’s assertion via Cleage’s work creating a “movement” church during the 1960s.
Cleage contended that the many young people during the Civil Rights era who were criticizing the Black Church as an “Uncle Tom” institution, while they were putting their lives on the line as Freedom Riders, protesters, voter registration agents and community organizers (all under the literal threat of white domestic terrorist violence), were more closely doing the work of Jesus than most people in the church.
And though some have pushed back on Pinn’s position, his insights, leadership and bold assertions have catapulted both him and the conversations his work engenders to the national and international spotlight. And ironically, Pinn’s stance has helped countless theological students and others find a more humanistic path within their own faith traditions.
For his part, Pinn, recipient of the 2018 Rice University Faculty Award for Excellence in Research, Teaching and Service honor, continues to press forward on the local, national and international stage, wrestling through tangled issues, and searching to find a new vision for a troubled world.