A Master Class on Being Human: A Black Christian and a Black Secular Humanist on Religion, Race, and Justice

A conversation between 2 eminent Black thinkers on how to work together to make the world a better place despite deep religious differencesBrad Braxton and Anthony Pinn represent two traditions—Christianity and Secular Humanism respectively—that have for centuries existed in bitter opposition. For too long, people with different worldviews have disparaged and harmed one another. Instead of fighting each other, Braxton and Pinn talk with, listen to, and learn from one another. Their wide-ranging conversation demonstrates the possibility of fruitful exchange that accounts for—rather than masks—their differences. Written amid the Covid-19 pandemic, threats to our democracy, and national protests for racial justice, A Master Class on Being Human shows us that constructive dialogue can help us pursue the common good without sacrificing our distinctive identities. In conversations that are frank, personal, and deeply informed by scholarship, Braxton and Pinn discuss topics that are urgent and immediate, such as the ongoing violence against Black communities, the rise of religiously unaffiliated communities, the Black Lives Matter movement. They also ponder those broader philosophical and theological questions that inform our politics and sense of what it means to be human: the meaning of religion, the stubborn dilemma of moral evil, the power and problems of hope.Braxton and Pinn invite us to join them in a master class as they strive to create a world where differences are not tolerated but instead celebrated. In that kind of courageous classroom, all can learn how to be better people who in turn transform the world into a better place.

IntroductionPROMPT 1What Is Religion, and Does It Help or Harm?PROMPT 2What About Black “Nones”?PROMPT 3Theodicy (Is God Good?) and Anthropodicy (Are Humans Good?)PROMPT 4What About Black Death?PROMPT 5Hope and Talk of the FuturePROMPT 6What Do We Learn from Black Lives Matter?PROMPT 7Does (or Should) Religion Have a Public Role?EPILOGUEIn This Master Class, We All Have HomeworkAcknowledgmentsReferencesIndex