Race and Sexuality in a Theology of Ubuntu

This chapter focuses on Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa, and his contribution to debates about sexual diversity and Christianity in Africa. It examines how Tutu’s progressive stance on same-sex sexuality gradually developed over the years and is informed by his long-standing resistance against apartheid and his defense of black civil rights in South Africa. It argues that at the heart of both struggles – around race and sexuality – is Tutu’s strong commitment to affirming human diversity and to defending the dignity and rights of all people. The chapter locates this commitment in Tutu’s African black theological thinking that centers around the biblical notion of the Imago Dei (the image of God) and the indigenous notion of ubuntu.