Demythologizing Freedom and the Beloved Community: A Practical Theology

Using the tools of practical theology and psychohistory, this presentation highlights the psychological and spiritual profiles of key religious leaders and personalities from the 19th and 20th centuries who were especially effective in combating white supremacy, racial hatred, and a multitude of systemic injustices that continue to plague the U.S. to this very day. This presentation will demythologize their work, and the context in which they existed, in the hopes that we may better emulate practices of freedom in our own time. Honesty compels us to acknowledge that the current sociopolitical context in 2022 is highly contentious (to state it mildly). But this context is not new. Moreover, the work of freedom and the Beloved Community is not new. Ultimately, this presentation seeks to move us forward in the work of Divine righteousness and to “do good, seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, [and] plead the widow’s cause.”