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Luis G. Pedraja is a Cuban-born theologian, philosopher, author, scholar and educator. Pedraja is an influential contributor to the development of Latino/a theology. He is also noted for his work in process philosophy and postmodernism, as well as his work in higher education. [1]
Born in Cienfuegos, Cuba on May 25, 1963, Pedraja emigrated to Spain with his parents in 1969 and later to Miami, Florida where he spent most of his childhood. He attended Stetson University, receiving a B.A. in Religion in 1984, during which time he was ordained as a Baptist minister and worked with migrant workers in Central Florida. Upon graduation he continued his studies at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, earning his M.Div. in 1987. Pedraja continued his education at the University of Virginia where he received his Ph.D. in Philosophy and Theology in 1994.
Pedraja taught religion, philosophy, and theology at the University of Puget Sound (1993–94) and Southern Methodist University (1994–2000). During this time, Pedraja served a co-chair of the Hispanic American Religion, Culture, and Society Group of the American Academy of Religion. In 2000, he became Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dean, and Professor of Theology at Memphis Theological Seminary. In 2004, Pedraja became a vice president at the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and served in that role until 2011. Pedraja served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Antioch University Los Angeles from 2011 to 2016. From 2016 to 2017 he served as the Interim Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs at the Peralta Community College District, which serves four colleges in Alameda, Oakland, and Berkeley. On May 9, 2017, Pedraja was approved by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education to become the sixth President of Quinsigamond Community College, where he is currently president. [2] Pedraja also served as President of La Comunidad of Hispanic Scholars of Religion (1999–2003) and as the editor of Apuntes, the oldest journal of Latino/a theology from 2000 to 2010.
Pedraja married Amber Lamont Pedraja in 1996. Together they founded two non-profit organizations, WellpetUSA and The Crystal Dove Foundation. Amber Lamont Pedraja died of cancer in 2008. In 2010 he married Leigh Woodruff, an attorney and litigator.
Pedraja is primarily noted for his work in Latino/a theology, where he focuses on how language and culture affect not only the Latino/a worldview, but also everyone's religious and philosophical perspectives. This is particularly evident in his Christology, where he explores the complexity of language, culture, and identity to inform his understanding of Jesus as one who stands with the oppressed. [3] In terms of cultural identity, Pedraja marks a shift in Latino/a theology from ethnocentrism, an effort to assert the significance of one's identity, to transculturalism, which uses identity and culture to promote intercultural dialogue and understanding. [4] His work also proposes using Mestizaje as a way of understanding the question of Jesus' humanity and divinity. In his first book, Jesus is my Uncle, Pedraja also introduces the concept of "ontopraxis," arguing that being and action are interconnected. [5]
Pedraja's scholarship has also focused on process philosophy, particularly focusing on the writings of Alfred North Whitehead, postmodernism, and theodicy. Recently, he has also worked on higher education policies and practices, particularly in the areas of governance, international quality assurance initiatives, strategic planning, and assessment.
Alfred North Whitehead was an English mathematician and philosopher. He created the philosophical school known as process philosophy, which has been applied in a wide variety of disciplines, including ecology, theology, education, physics, biology, economics, and psychology.
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Hispanic and Latino American Muslims are Hispanic and Latino Americans who are of the Islamic faith. Hispanic and Latino Americans are an ethnolinguistic group of citizens of the United States with origins in Spain and Latin America. Islam is an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion teaching that there is only one God (Allah), and that Muhammad is a messenger of God. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, claimed to be the verbatim word of God, and the teachings and normative examples of Muhammad. Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, and the Quran in its Arabic to be the unaltered and final revelation of God. The Spaniards took the Roman Catholic faith to Latin America via imperialism and colonialism; Roman Catholicism continues to be the largest, but not the only, religious denomination among most Hispanics. In contrast, the Arabs took Islam to very few Latin American countries such as Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Colombia via post-independence immigration.
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Justo Luis González is a Cuban-American historical theologian and Methodist elder. He is a prolific author and an influential contributor to the development of Latin American theology. His wife, Catherine Gunsalus González, is a professor emerita at Columbia Theological Seminary, and the two have co-authored several books.
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Eugene B. Borowitz was an American leader and philosopher in Reform Judaism, known largely for his work on Jewish theology and Jewish ethics. He also edited a Jewish journal, Sh'ma, and taught at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
Edwin David Aponte is a Puerto Rican-American cultural historian, religious studies scholar, and contributor to the development of Christianity among Hispanic and Latino/a Americans. His research focuses on the interplay between religion and culture, especially Hispanic/Latino(a) religions, African-American religions, North American religious history, and congregational studies. He is one of a small number of U.S. Hispanic historians of Christianity.
Miguel A. De La Torre is a professor of Social Ethics and Latino Studies at Iliff School of Theology, author, and an ordained Southern Baptist minister.
Roberto Segundo Goizueta is a Cuban American Catholic theologian currently holding the Margaret O'Brien Flatley Chair in Catholic Theology at Boston College. Some of his specialties include Latino(a) theology and Christology.
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Carlos F. Cardoza-Orlandi is a Puerto Rican theologian, historian, teacher, academic and author. He holds the Frederick E. Roach Chair in World Christianity at Baylor University.
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