A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Please discuss further on the talk page. (June 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
This article is an autobiography or has been extensively edited by the subject or by someone connected to the subject. It may need editing to conform to Wikipedia's neutral point of view policy. There may be relevant discussion on the talk page. (July 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
Miguel A. De La Torre (born 6 October 1958) is a professor of Social Ethics and Latino StudiesatIliff School of Theology, author, and an ordained Southern Baptist minister.[1]
Miguel A. De La Torre
| |
|---|---|
De La Torre in 2009
| |
| Born | (1958-10-06) 6 October 1958 (age 65)[citation needed] |
| Nationality | Naturalized U.S. citizen |
| Alma mater | Temple University |
| Known for | Work analyzing social ethics and hispanic religiosity |
| Awards | "Outstanding Hispanic Educator" award by the Michigan Hispanic Legislative Caucus "2016 Outstanding Faculty Award" by University of Denver/Iliff Joint Doctoral Program |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Social ethics, theology of liberation, Latinx religiosity, Santería |
| Institutions | Iliff School of Theology |
Born in Cuba months before the Castro Revolution, De La Torre and his family migrated to the United Statesasrefugees when he was an infant. For a while the U.S. government considered him and his family as "illegal aliens". On 6 June 1960, De La Torre received an order from Immigration and Naturalization Service to "self-deport." He attended Blessed Sacrament, a Catholic elementary school in Queens, New York, and was baptized and confirmed by the Catholic Church. Simultaneously, his parents were priest/priestess of the religion Santería.[2] He refers to himself as a "Southern Baptist, Roman Catholic child of Ellegúa."[3]
In his early twenties he became a "born-again" Christian, joining University Baptist Church in Coral Gables, Florida. In 1992, De La Torre dissolved the thirteen-year-old real estate company to attend Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in order to obtain a Master of Divinity and enter the ministry. During his seminary training he served as pastor at a rural congregation, Goshen Baptist Church in Glen Dean, Kentucky. While doing pastoral work in rural Kentucky, De La Torre had experiences that caused him to begin exploring the church's power structures and what the dominant European American culture could learn from the Latino margins.[4]
De La Torre continued his theological training and obtained a doctorate from Temple University in social ethics in 1999. According to the books he published, he focuses on ethics within contemporary U.S. thought, specifically how religion affects race, class, and gender oppression. His works 1) applies a social scientific approach to Latino/a religiosity within this country;[5]2) studies Liberation theologies in the Caribbean and Latin America (specifically in Cuba);[6] and 3) engages in postmodern/postcolonial social theory.
In 1999 he was hired to teach Christian EthicsatHope CollegeinHolland, Michigan. In 2005 he wrote a column for the local newspaper, The Holland Sentinel, titled "When the Bible is Used for Hatred."[7] The article was a satirical piece commenting on Focus on the Family's James Dobson outing of SpongeBob SquarePants. Dobson responded to the article.[8]
A controversy over these articles ensued.[9] A few months afterwards, De La Torre was forced to resign his tenure and took the position of associate professor for social ethics at Iliff School of TheologyinDenver, Colorado.[10]
Since obtaining his doctorate in 1999, De La Torre has authored numerous articles and books, including several books that have won national awards, specifically: Reading the Bible from the Margins, (Orbis, 2002);[11] Santería: The Beliefs and Rituals of a Growing Religion in America (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2004); Doing Christian Ethics from the Margins, (Orbis, 2004); and Encyclopedia on Hispanic American Religious Culture, Volume 1 &2, (ABC-CLIO, 2009).[12] Within the academy he has served as a director to the Society of Christian Ethics[13] and the American Academy of Religion.[14]
He is the founder and editor of the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Religion.[15]
De La Torre has been an expert commentator concerning ethical issues (mainly Hispanic religiosity, LGBT civil rights,[16] and immigration rights) on several local, national, and international media outlets.
In 2021, De La Torre won the Excellence in Teaching Award given by the American Academy of Religion.[17]
Also in 2021, De La Torre won the Martin E. Marty Public Understanding of Religion Award, also given by the American Academy of Religion.[18]
Updated on 19 June 2014.