Liberalism and Colonial Violence

“With her breathtaking command of Western philosophy, colonial history, and pastoral theology, Hellena Moon has taken a sledgehammer to the still-dominant European epistemological foundations underlying ‘traditional’ pastoral theology and care, calling us to deconstruct, and then radically reimagine our history and practices, in order to rebuild our field from its very ruins for the sake of the flourishing of all people everywhere. This book is a must-read.”


—Pamela Cooper-White, Union Theological Seminary





“Spiritual care and its correlates—pastoral care and shepherding—invite scrutiny in this complex and rewarding study. Intertwined are Eurocentric assumptions and claims of exceptionalism and universalism, the sacred and the secular, colonialism and self-determination, Native and Western epistemologies, and historicism and postcolonialism. Discursive interrogation gives way to rehabilitation, deconstruction to reconstruction, revealing promising paths toward liberation.”


—Gary Y. Okihiro, Columbia University, emeritus





“An imaginative and daring rendering of postcolonial spiritual care that challenges the supremacy of ‘pastoral’ metaphors and calls instead for the repair of ‘immured spirits.’ A deeply challenging book that urgently demands the decolonization of Western ‘pastoral’ care.”


—Susan Abraham, Pacific School of Religion





“It is hard to imagine a more necessary, and compellingly written, book for the field. Hellena Moon has pulled the colonial thread to unravel the hold that Western thought has wielded in pastoral theology and care. This is decolonial theology that dismantles at the deepest roots. Moon convincingly asserts that such work is necessary to articulate a pastoral theology that liberates the discipline and its practices of care.”


—Phillis Isabella Sheppard, Vanderbilt Divinity School





“Hellena Moon follows the logic of caring for human persons into a deeply thoughtful, insightful, and devastatingly critical interrogation of the social, economic, and political structures that frame the ordinary lives of the greatest number of human beings in the world today. All caregivers, whether we describe ourselves as pastoral, spiritual, or simply caregivers, need to carefully read and digest this book. It’s a game-changer.”


—Emmanuel Y. Lartey, Candler School of Theology





“Hellena Moon presents a powerful and eye-opening postcolonial and feminist critique of a multitude of accepted wisdoms in Christian/Euro-American conceptions of spiritual care, including a provocative problematization of ‘liberation’ in the context of Korean/American theology and history. This is all but one of many challenges and insights found in her magisterial study that brings together steadfast engagements with spiritual concerns and impressive feats of historical reflection in a wholly original manner.”


—Kyu Hyun Kim, University of California, Davis





“For decades, scholars and practitioners have explored the many ways spiritual care can better attend to human differences. Hellena Moon takes us deeper. Moving beyond the assumptions about the inherent goodness of the practices and theory, Moon challenges the assumptions upon which spiritual care has been based. No longer accepting the colonialist presumptions that informed its construction, Moon carefully deconstructs these premises, offering refreshing and vital insights into the practical, pedagogical, and administrative implications for a decolonized framework of spiritual care.”


—Trace Haythorn, executive director and CEO, Association for Clinical Pastoral Education