The “preferential option for the poor”–those people marginalized under globalization, the capitalism of postmodernity–has been one of the most significant insights in contemporary Christian theology. Recently, however, options for the margins have been challenged by postmodern shifts in intellectual, social, political, and economic realities that tend to replace preferential options with concerns for pluralism, otherness, and difference. The essays in this volume show how some forms of postmodern thought and theology can mask patterns of oppression as well as a deafness to voices from the marg ... More

The “preferential option for the poor”–those people marginalized under globalization, the capitalism of postmodernity–has been one of the most significant insights in contemporary Christian theology. Recently, however, options for the margins have been challenged by postmodern shifts in intellectual, social, political, and economic realities that tend to replace preferential options with concerns for pluralism, otherness, and difference. The essays in this volume show how some forms of postmodern thought and theology can mask patterns of oppression as well as a deafness to voices from the margins. The authors seek to show how the preferential option forthe margins can engage postmodernity in new ways and break new ground in religious, theological, and ethical, as well as social, political, and economic thinking. The authors explore the intersection of postmodernity with a number of issues, including liberation theology; the subaltern; the theology of Africa; feminism and patriarchy; and African-American theology and spirituality.