Cone, James H.

1938-2018 · Contribution: 1969-2018

Systematic theologian; AME minister

Systematic theology; founded Black liberation theology, arguing that the Christian gospel is centrally about God's identification with the oppressed; author of 'Black Theology and Black Power' (1969), 'A Black Theology of Liberation' (1970), and 'The Cross and the Lynching Tree' (2011)

Religious & Spiritual Leadership — collage image
Religious & Spiritual Leadership

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Quick facts

Born
1938, Fordyce, Arkansas
Active since
1969
Category
Religious & Spiritual Leadership
Best known for
Founding Black liberation theology

Impact on the world

Cone reoriented American religious thought around the experience of the oppressed, insisting that a gospel indifferent to Black suffering was no gospel at all, a claim that reshaped seminaries and pulpits across the world.

Sources

  1. NPR

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