Practical theology for the privileged: a starting point for pedagogies of conversion

Abstract

Privilege is a dehumanizing social reality which is learned via social interaction and internalized as part of identity, contributing to the dynamic of privilege and oppression as practices of entitlement and domination. While privilege often appears as a taken-for-granted norm that cannot be changed, our identities and practices of privilege can be changed. This article offers a vision of border-crossing identity as a potential model for re-crafting identities of privilege, and advocates religious educational practices of conversion as a possible means for facilitating such a change. Utilizing a narrative-based qualitative study of persons who have sought such a transformation, this study seeks to identify a practical theological understanding of conversion as a starting point for crafting pedagogies for transformation for people with privilege.