Articulating Public Theologies

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Dr. Alejandro Nava and Dr. Raúl Zegarra discuss their respective books, Street Scriptures and Revolutionary Faith

Photo by Paco Alonso

 
 

Dr. Alejandro Nava and Dr. Raúl Zegarra converse about their respective books, Street Scriptures: Between God and Hip-Hop (University of Chicago Press, 2022) and A Revolutionary Faith: Liberation Theology Between Public Religion and Public Reason (Stanford University Press, 2023). Both writers studied with David Tracy and share public theology’s concern of impact on broader society. Dr. Zegarra embraces what he considers the sophisticated philosophy of John Rawls, in particular, “the way he thinks about justice…for the poor.” Conversations at the interface of diverse traditions and the public are of utmost importance to his interests. Dr. Nava’s work at the “hyphen that connects the mystical and prophetic” comes to life through hip-hop as “a voice of disenfranchised communities,” which “...emerged out of the cracks and corners of the modern world.”

 
 

"In this compelling work, Nava reads the radically subversive 'street scriptures' of hip-hop as a distinctive form of urban liberation theology. This elegantly argued book by a scholar and activist is an important contribution to the study of urban religion and of 'religion' itself in one of its most powerful and challenging contemporary instantiations."

Robert Orsi,
Author of History and Presence

 
 

"How do religious people articulate their theological commitments to social justice? A Revolutionary Faith offers a lucid and insightful account. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the convergence of faith and politics."

Mayra Rivera,
Harvard University

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Alejandro Nava

Dr. Alejandro Nava is a Professor of Religious Studies and Classics at the University of Arizona (UA). He received his MA and PhD in Religious Studies from the University of Chicago. His first teaching position was at Seattle University, before joining the faculty at UA, where he teaches courses that include 'Love and World Religions,' 'The Question of God,' 'Religion and Culture in the Southwest,' 'Rap, Culture, and God' and 'Religion in Latin America.' Dr. Nava is the author of The Mystical and Prophetic Thought of Simone Weil and Gustavo Gutiérrez: Reflections on the Mystery and Hiddenness of God (SUNY Press, 2001); Wonder and Exile in the New World (Penn State University Press, 2013); In Search of Soul: Hip-Hop, Literature and Religion (University of California Press, 2017); and Street Scriptures: Between God and Hip-Hop (University of Chicago Press, 2022).

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Raúl Zegarra

Dr. Raúl Zegarra is an Assistant Professor of Roman Catholic Theological Studies at Harvard Divinity School and a member of the editorial and advisory team at the Hispanic Theological Initiative. Dr. Zegarra has held previous positions at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Chicago. He received his PhD from The University of Chicago and holds master’s degrees in philosophy and theology from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and the University of Notre Dame, respectively. His research focuses on the relationship between faith and politics, with particular emphasis on how the identity and commitments of minoritized groups are shaped. Awards recently granted include the New Scholar Essay Prize for Catholic Studies in the Americas (Fordham University, 2023), the Max Weber Kolleg Research Fellowship (University of Erfurt, 2022), and the Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise (University of Heidelberg, 2021). Dr. Zegarra has authored four books, multiple book chapters, academic articles, and translations. His most recent book, A Revolutionary Faith: Liberation Theology between Public Religion and Public Reason (Stanford UP, 2023), highlights liberation theology’s contributions to a theory of social justice that welcomes the role of religious commitments. His current book project — Sacred Identities: Latines and the Intersectional Politics of Faith — attempts to problematize some of the assumptions of Latine theology regarding the relationship between race, gender, and religion in the Latine community. Dr. Zegarra is a regular op-ed contributor to the Peruvian newspaper El Comercio.

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