Steven Horne, the first Romany from the UK to be awarded a PhD in theology, discusses his new book Gypsies and Jesus: A Traveller Theology …
How long has this book been in the offing and what is your aim in writing it?
‘Gypsies and Jesus: A Traveller Theology’ has, in the practical sense, been in the offing for just under a decade. However, if God has encouraged and inspired even just one word in the book, then I believe the message per se has been waiting in the wings long before it was placed in my heart. On one hand the book is an original and revelatory insight into contemporary GRT religiosity and spirituality. However, more broadly my aims are: to inform and encourage both GRT people and non-GRT people of all faiths and none; to place God firmly as the translator and mediator between the cultures; and to demonstrate how a ‘Traveller theology’ can work as a way of practice and thought for everyone regardless of race and ethnicity.
Why has very little been written by GRT people on the subject of faith to date?
The reasoning as to why (relatively speaking) there isn’t much written about faith by GRT people, is twofold. Firstly, historically GRT people just simply haven’t been given the same opportunities as other people when it comes to being able to write their own history. Secondly, GRT communities have ‘traditionally’ been identified as holding an oral culture – meaning that history, knowledge, values, traditions and education have typically been shared through practice and word-of-mouth. As such, these factors have meant that in the past, writings on faith by GRT people have often been short in length and content, subjective to the community it has originated from, and has been remotely and independently produced.
In the last century what have been the main changes to expressions of GRT Christianity in the UK, Europe?
GRT Christians went from being treated by the Church as unintelligent and deviant ‘modern lepers’ in the 19th century, to forming their own churches in the 20th century across Europe and the Americas. A revival which started in French tents and camps in the 1950s and spread to the UK during the 1980s, saw GRT people building their own pulpits and adopting Evangelical Pentecostalism en masse. And whilst many Gypsies and Travellers continue to attend and/or use traditional denominational places of worship, the changed theological and ecclesiological outlook among much of the community is one that cannot and should not be ignored or dismissed.
What is the significance of the ‘edgelands’ to GRT theology?
The ‘edgelands’ is where ‘others’ reside, where undesirables are kept, where thoughts contrary to the mainstream are placed, and where separation is maintained. Ever since their emergence into Europe, GRT people have been kept physically, socially, politically, and educationally to the margins of our wider and general society. Ever notice how often Traveller camps are located on the outskirts of towns and cities, where they can remain unnoticed? Jesus spent most of His ministry in the ‘edgelands’, spending time ministering to those whom society deemed unfit and unworthy. Significantly though, Jesus also created His own edgelands, spending time alone in prayer, and even dying on the edgelands on the Cross. When I discuss the idea of ‘edgelands’ in my book, I want people to see how they are both called to pay attention to and walk alongside the marginalised and ostracised who occupy the edgelands in our societies, and how they are to maintain the sanctity of the boundaries within their own edgelands of prayer, virtue and walk of faith.
How does nomadism and/or impermanence relate to and influence GRT spirituality?
Nomadism and impermanence relate to and influences everyone’s spirituality – whether they realise it or not; Traveller theology merely emphasises it, placing the tropes of nomadism and impermanence in central positions of faith. Faith, life, our values and even our bodies are permanently impermanent – always moving, always changing; from dust we come and to dust we shall return! Yet, so often we become entrenched in specific political and religious thought and practice, we act as if we are living forever, and we settle for all that today has to offer us because we wholeheartedly believe that tomorrow will always come. But these approaches are in stark opposition to the reality of our condition – physical and spiritual. Consciously or otherwise, GRT spirituality bucks this trend, turning life up to ‘11’ and physically enacting the nomadic nature that the Creator has placed in the heart of creation.
The concept of purity appears central to GRT faith, can you summarise its importance?
The idea of what purity means and what it entails in GRT culture has evolved a great deal – from community health (such as keeping washing and cooking separate) when early Roma people were on their diaspora from 10th century India to 14th century Europe, to more modern times when ideas around ‘purity’ can look like men and women sitting separately at social events, not engaging in sex before marriage, and using different crockery for Gypsies and non-Gypsies alike. Its place within GRT faith has unsurprisingly merged with traditional values and cultural practice. As such, the almost-universal current of purity that runs through GRT faith is pivotal.
What would a more inclusive approach to GRT people look like from the Church in the UK now and in the future?
For Gypsies and Travellers, often your word and promise is as good as any contract; a handshake as binding as any legal agreement. In short, actions speak much louder than words. Greater inclusivity for GRT people from the Church on one hand might be demonstrated by representation in key positions and by a collective ‘welcoming to the table’ of theological debates and ecclesiological matters. However, on the other hand it will be demonstrated by open invitations to communities and parishes without expectation or demand, and it will be fuelled by sincere change in the hearts and minds of both clergy and parishioners.
The standard for inclusivity in our society, even when emerging from the sincerest of intentions, has been reduced to flag waving, profile pictures, and virtue signalling in a myriad of forms. Our standard as Christians, demonstrated by Jesus Himself, is, was and always should be love. Family, with all its highs and lows looks like love. Welcoming the stranger to our table looks like love. Giving looks like love. Hope, acceptance, and serving others looks like love. You ask me what would a more inclusive approach to GRT people looks like from the Church in the UK now and in the future? I say it looks like love; it looks like Jesus.
Steven Horne is the first Romany from the UK to be awarded a PhD in Theology (November 2020). He works as a Licensed Lay Minister in the Church of England, leading a 'fresh expressions' outreach mission in a major town. He also delivers lectures and training in Universities, Theological Seminaries, Churches and more, to Clergy, Students, Teachers, Healthcare professionals and government - both local and national. His mother is a gorger (non-Gypsy), and his father is a Romany Gypsy. He grew up within two cultures: an amalgamation of Gypsy values and ‘settled’ practices.
Gypsies and Jesus: A Traveller Theology is available to pre-order in hardback from dltbooks.com.
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