M. Shawn Copeland
Born (1947-08-24) August 24, 1947
NationalityAmerican
OccupationTheologian
TitleProfessor Emerita
Academic background
Alma mater
Influences
Academic work
DisciplineSystematic theology
Sub-discipline
School or traditionCatholic theology
Institutions
InfluencedAndrew L. Prevot

Robert J. Rivera

Michele Saracino

Mary Shawn Copeland (born August 24, 1947), known professionally as M. Shawn Copeland, is a retired American womanist and Black Catholic theologian, and a former religious sister. She is professor emerita of systematic theology at Boston College and is known for her work in theological anthropology, political theology, and African American Catholicism.[1]

Biography

An only child, Copeland grew up in Detroit, Michigan, where she attended parochial elementary and secondary schools.[2] She received her B.A. in English in 1969 from Madonna College in Michigan before becoming a Felician religious sister and teaching in a high school.[3] After she became involved in protests against the Archdiocese of Detroit's attempts to close Black Catholic schools, she felt pressure from within her order and transferred to the Adrian Dominican Sisters in 1971.[3] After working for the National Black Sisters' Conference and then Theology in the Americas, she began a doctoral program at Boston College to study with Jesuit theologian Bernard Lonergan. She completed her PhD in systematic theology in 1991, with a dissertation titled "A Genetic Study of the Idea of the Human Good in the Thought of Bernard Lonergan," and she left religious life in 1994.[3]

Copeland has held positions at Xavier University of Louisiana, Yale Divinity School, St. Norbert College, Harvard Divinity School, Marquette University, and Candler School of Theology at Emory University.[4] She worked as an adjunct professor in the Department of Theology at Boston College for a number of years, and joined in 2003 as associate professor of Systematic Theology.

From 2003 to 2004, Copeland served as the first African American president of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA). From 2001 to 2005, Copeland was also the convenor of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium (BCTS).[1]

In 2007, Copeland gave the Madeleva Lecture at St. Mary's College (Indiana).[5]

She became a full professor at Boston College in 2013,[6] retiring and becoming Professor Emerita of Systematic Theology in 2019.[7] In October of that same year, she delivered the Cunningham Lectures in New College, University of Edinburgh, on the topic "Theology as Political: The Weight, the Yearning, the Urgency of Life." In 2020, she began a one-year term as the Alonzo L. McDonald Family Chair on the Life and Teachings of Jesus and Their Impact on Culture at Emory University. As part of her term, she delivered public lectures in fall 2020 and spring 2021.[8]

She gave the keynote at the CTSA gathering in June that year. She delivered the keynote at the BCTS gathering the same year, in the fall at the University of Notre Dame.

Scholarship

Copeland's work spans the fields of systematic theology, political theology, public theology, Christology, theological anthropology, and African American Catholicism. Her work centers the lived experiences of people experiencing oppression, violence, and injustice.[9] Copeland has been active in struggles for justice. At the 2021 Black Catholic Theological Symposium at the University of Notre Dame, she delivered a lecture in which she argued, "Black Lives Matter is what theology looks like."[10]

Honors

In 2018, Copeland became the first African American theologian honored with the prestigious John Courtney Murray Award, the Catholic Theological Society of America's highest honor.[11] A festschrift was also produced that year in honor of Copeland, entitled Enfleshing Theology: Embodiment, Discpleship, and Politics in the Work of M. Shawn Copeland.[12] Additionally, Copeland has received the Marianist Award, the Yves Congar Award, the Elizabeth Seton Award, and Villanova University's Civitas Dei Medal.[4][13] Copeland has received six honorary degrees.[3]

Controversy

In 2017, a lecture of Copeland's at Madonna University was canceled after conservative Catholic media outlets (including Church Militant) published articles critiquing Copeland's stance on LGBT issues, which has at times been in conflict with official Church teachings.[14] In her book Enfleshing Freedom, Copeland wrote: "On Easter, God made Jesus queer in His solidarity with us. In other words, Jesus ‘came out of the closet’ and became the ‘queer’ Christ."[9]

Books

  • M. Shawn Copeland (2009). The Subversive Power of Love: The Vision of Henriette Delille. New York: Paulist Press. ISBN 978-0-8091-4489-1.
  • M. Shawn Copeland (2010). Enfleshing Freedom: Body, Race, and Being. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press. ISBN 978-0-8006-6274-5.
  • M. Shawn Copeland (2018). Knowing Christ Crucified: The Witness of African American Religious Experience. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. ISBN 978-1-62698-298-7.

References

  1. 1 2 "M. Shawn Copeland". Catholic Women Preach. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  2. ↑ Patterson, Margot (July 16, 2003). "Complete interview with M. Shawn Copeland". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Miller, Jack (2019-06-05). "Not a Job But a Vocation: M. Shawn Copeland After 29 Years With BC". The Heights. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  4. 1 2 "Influential Theologian M. Shawn Copeland to Retire from Boston College". www.bc.edu. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  5. ↑ "Madeleva Lecture Series | Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN". www.saintmarys.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  6. ↑ Copeland, M. Shawn (April 2018). "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). www.bc.edu. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  7. ↑ Horan, Daniel P. (1 May 2019). "M. Shawn Copeland's retirement is a time to celebrate this friend of God". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  8. ↑ "Catholic theologian Shawn Copeland to give Candler's McDonald Lectures". news.emory.edu. 2020-10-06. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  9. 1 2 Christian, Gina (February 16, 2023). "Theologian Copeland laments 'historical amnesia' of slavery at Villanova event". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  10. ↑ Segura, Olga (October 13, 2021). "Theologians affirm 'Black Theology Matters' at symposium". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  11. ↑ Schlumpf, Heidi (14 June 2018). "First African American theologian honored with CTSA's John Courtney Murray Award". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  12. ↑ Saracino, Michele; Rivera, Robert J. (2018). Enfleshing Theology: Embodiment, Discipleship, and Politics in the Work of M. Shawn Copeland. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-978704-05-3. Archived from the original on 2021-01-08. Retrieved 2018-12-26.
  13. ↑ "Villanova University to Present Civitas Dei Medal to Theologian M. Shawn Copeland, Influential in Issues Pertaining to African American Catholics | Villanova University". www1.villanova.edu. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  14. ↑ Dady, Cole (2017-09-26). "BC Theology Prof. Did Not Speak at Madonna University After Conservative Criticism". The Heights. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
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