In My Grandmother's House by Yolanda Pierce

This concept of modesty has been a struggle for Pierce to separate from her understanding of godliness. She identifies as Pentecostal and said she grew up in a tradition where women believed living a modest and holy life, including dressing modestly, were required to attain salvation.

Pierce is working toward dismantling the patriarchy of the church. “It is to refer to the grandmothers, aunties, the other mothers, the nonbiological connections women have and to really expand the category of womanist theology,” Pierce told Religion News Service, “so the words and the thoughts of grandmothers and church mothers and other mothers are a part of the conversation.” This was done in an effort to broaden the boundaries of womanist theology. In the preface of her book Pierce refers to “grandmother theology,” which she defines as the thought and faith systems of generations who came before her parents. But, she said her grandmother supplied her with expectations for the future of the Black church. She has been published in academic journals for which she has authored over 50 essays centered on the interaction between race, faith and gender. Pierce is an esteemed scholar of both African American religious history and womanist theology, which approaches theology by focusing on the Black female perspective. “So I’m really trying to shift the discourse about who can do theology and what counts as theological source material.” “If the only theology we have is (Martin) Luther or (John) Calvin, then we’re missing how God moves in a world for a group of people who don’t know Luther or Calvin, will never read (their) work nor are interested in the 1500s in which they lived,” Pierce told Religion News Service in February 2021.

In February 2021, she released her book In My Grandmother’s House: Black Women, Faith and the Stories We Inherit, which chronicles the history of theology before it was consistently defined as theology.

Pierce is the first woman to lead Howard University’s Divinity School. How can we act justly, love mercy and walk humbly?” “I am, however, interested in the weightier matters of law: justice and freedom. “I am not interested in most conversations about equality,” Pierce wrote on her website.

In My Grandmother's House by Yolanda Pierce