Little’s First Book Presents Holistic Womanist Doctrine of Salvation

The first monograph by Assistant Professor in the Practice of Spirituality and Health Lahronda Welch Little, who also serves as director of Candler’s Women, Theology, and Ministry program, has been published by Rowman & Littlefield. In A Womanist Holistic Soteriology: Stitching Fabrics with Fine Threads, Little constructs a holistic, womanist soteriology—or doctrine of salvation—that highlights diverse perspectives and encourages communal responsibility.

Little opens by explaining the historical context behind the constructions of ideas of salvation in ancient Egyptian thought, particularly the concept of Ma’at: balance, wholeness, and moral ethics. She also explores the etymology of “salvation” in various West African languages, which leads to broader narratives regarding salvation that celebrate the beingness of God’s creation and promote agency rather than oppression.

Drawing from womanist and Black feminist discourse and practices, Little’s version of a womanist holistic doctrine of salvation explores concepts of grace, spirituality, and agency by weaving interviews with theologians, practitioners, and scholar alongside philosophical concepts of binary interdependency and holism, and practicing womanist holistic soteriology within community.