Author: theologicalnews

Grants & Fellowships, Master Category, Opportunities

Call for Applications: Psychology Cross-Training Fellowship Opportunity for Theologians – Mar 27, 2023 Deadline.

Call for applications: Psychology Cross-Training Fellowship Programme for Theologians

The University of Birmingham is running a 16-month fellowship program for theologians to help them engage with psychological science in their research.  These fellowships are designed to provide the opportunity for theologians to break down disciplinary barriers and engage more deeply with psychological research to further theological exploration and practice. The fellowships will offer support for theologians to participate in an intensive 16-month programme in psychological cross-training, equipping them with the skills to draw upon insights from psychology and potentially providing them with funding to undertake psychologically informed theological research. The fellowships will build a community of science-engaged theologians who will be able to work independently or collaboratively to undertake new research, develop teaching materials incorporating psychological science, and raise the profile of this area of enquiry.  Fellows will have the opportunity to take part in 2 residential workshops, work with psychologist mentors, apply for a £20,000 research project (open only to project fellows), and more.  

The deadline for applications is March 27th, 2023.

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in (or if you know someone who would be), you can find more details here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/ptr/projects/psychology-training-theologians.aspx, or email Dr. Carissa Sharp at c.sharp @ beam.ac.uk  

Submitted by:
Dr Carissa Sharp
Assistant Professor of Psychology of Religion
Co-Principal Investigator: International Research Network for the Study of Science and Belief in Society
Co-Investigator: Science and Religion: Exploring the Spectrum – Global Perspectives
University of Birmingham

Call For Papers, Master Category

Open Theology – Call for Papers – “Religion & Spirituality in Everyday Life” Submission Deadline:

“Open Theology” (https://www.degruyter.com/opth) invites submissions for the topical issue “Religion and Spirituality in Everyday Life,” edited by Joana Bahia (State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Cecilia Bastos (National Museum of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil María Pilar García Bossio, UCA-CONICET, Argentina)

DESCRIPTION  

This Special Issue seeks to put in dialogue research focusing on religious and spiritual practices that take place outside institutional frameworks and in people’s everyday lives. We are interested in the presence of new spiritualities in daily life, whether understood as re-readings or even breaks from religious traditions. Typically, the category of spirituality refers to reinterpretations of spiritual disciplines from external historical-spatial contexts. However, here we understand them also as appropriations of institutionalised religions that are practiced outside their typical frameworks and, also, possible analogue configurations, but which are understood, implicitly or explicitly, as not religious. 

We invite researchers to submit papers that contribute to the reflection about the places and contexts where religious and spiritual experiences take place in contemporary societies, which will contribute to widening the limits of what we call “religion” today. We expect to receive contributions that analyse some of the following topics: 

  • Manifestations of religious nature or resemblance, such as sacralisation and rituals, that take place outside “temples” and in everyday life. 
  • Interpretations and appropriations of religious and/or spiritual symbols in non-traditional practice contexts. 
  • Uses and negotiations of the categories of religion and spirituality in specific contexts. 
  • Ways in which the religious and/or spiritual shape or transform tangible or intangible heritage in public and private space. 


HOW TO SUBMIT  

Submissions will be collected until May 15, 2023, via the on-line submission system at http://www.editorialmanager.com/openth/  


Choose as article type: “Religion and Spirituality in Everyday Life”  

Before submission the authors should carefully read the Instruction for Authors, available at: https://www.degruyter.com/publication/journal_key/OPTH/downloadAsset/OPTH_Instruction%20for%20Authors.pdf  


All contributions will undergo critical peer-review before being accepted for publication.  

Further questions about content for this thematic issue can be addressed to Guillermo Andrés Duque Silva at guillermo.duque@urjc.es. Technical or financial questions can be directed to journal Managing Editor Katarzyna Tempczyk at katarzyna.tempczyk@degruyter.com.  

Call For Papers, Journals, Master Category

Journal of Biblical & Theological Studies – CPF on Ecclesiology. Submission Deadline, Dec 1, 2023

The Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies, a peer-reviewed, open access journal, invites scholarly submissions for a forthcoming issue on Ecclesiology. JBTS is an interdenominational, broadly evangelical journal that seeks to provide high-level scholarship to both scholars and students. In this special issue, we seek a broad engagement with the Doctrine of the Church. Potential topics can range from the church’s identity, its mission and/or how the church relates to the state and society, its sacraments, its unity and diversity, catholicity, ecumenism, or practical concerns that today’s church encounters.

For inquires, contributors may reach out to justin.mclendon AT gcu.edu. 

Deadline for submission is 12/1/2023.

Invitation link can be found here.

Article guidelines can be found here.

Call For Papers, Master Category

Call for Abstracts: Theology, Religion, and Dungeons & Dragons (Feb 15 Deadline)

Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) that was created in 1974 and popularized in the 1970’s and 1980’s, though it has found a renaissance in contemporary popular culture due in part to its prominent role in the Netflix series Stranger Things. The COVID-19 pandemic saw a surge in virtual Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) gaming via work-from-home platforms such as Zoom; from their living rooms, people across the world would work in the virtual office by day and venture into the fantasy worlds of D&D by evening. Additionally, the rising popularity of live-streamers and groups with enormous followings, such as Critical Role, underscores the prominent role that the game continues to hold with tabletop gamers and speaks to the diverse manners in which D&D is enjoyed.

The fantasy worlds of D&D are replete with religious imagery and rely on the theological imagination. Real-world theological and religious concepts and ideas inform this theological imagination, placing human players in foreign yet familiar settings. Guidebooks provide source material for religious and belief structures, as well as deities and player classes that engage both religion and theology. D&D utilizes theology and religion in its expansive mythos, worldbuilding, and everyday experiences of adventures.

The editors gladly invite submissions on, but not limited to, the topics below for a volume on the intersections of academic disciplines of theology, religious studies, and the creative world of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), to be published in the Theology, Religion, and Popular Culture book series. Interested authors should send chapter abstracts of 300-700 words, along with a CV or resume, to theology.religion.dnd@gmail.com.

Methodologies and Approaches: theological, religious, or other disciplines intersecting with some aspect or concepts from the D&D universe. Topics might include:

  • The relationship between theology and role-play for spiritual formation.
  • Pastoral theology: D&D and spiritual care.
  • The three-tiered universe, the sacred canopy, and postmodern epistemology.
  • Gaming or games as spiritual or religious practice.
  • The collaborative roles of the Dungeon Master and players, the roles of clergy and laity.
  • The place of ritual and spellcasting, the place of liturgy and sacrament.
  • Diverse theological systems, henotheism, polytheism, etc. and D&D pantheons.
  • Mythology and formation: understanding the structuring role of narrative.
  • Existentialism, adventuring, and the quest for meaningful living.

Themes: theological and/or religious explorations of major themes related to the D&D universe. Topics might include:

  • Mainstream acceptance, how popular culture contributed to shifting public perceptions of D&D.
  • Race (now changed to species), class, gender, and other revisions in the D&D universe.
  • The commodification of hobbies, capitalism and D&D.
  • Fantasy/Tolkien’s influence on D&D.
  • Can good people play evil characters?
  • Theological or religious tolerance and pluralism amid competing complex belief structures.
  • The lingering impact of past-trauma in characters’ backstories and the enactment of woundedness. The death of an imagined character and loss.
  • Interaction between human and non-human (“others”). 
  • Non-combative conflict transformation.
  • Are the dice gods mad at me, determinism and free-will?
  • Good versus evil, are devils beyond redemption?
  • Friendship, companionship, and mental health.
  • Vocation/Calling and teamwork: multiclassing outside of traditional boxes.

Works: Topics might include:

  • Stranger Things and Christian fear of D&D.
  • An analysis of part of some aspect of a prominent campaign or popular culture portrayal of D&D (like Critical Role, the “C” Team, or Onward).
  • Media portrayal of D&D, or stereotypes of table-top gamers and bullying, exclusion, or escapism.
  • An analysis of a major D&D campaign like Tomb of Annihilation, Lost Mine of Phandelver, Storm King’s Thunder, etc.
  • Engagement with the fantasy books set in the D&D universe like The Legend of Drizzt.
  • Baldur’s Gate: online RPG in the D&D universe

The call for chapters ends February 15, 2023. Authors will be notified of accepted proposals on March 1st, 2023. Authors will submit their accepted chapters by August 31st, 2023. Final chapters with revisions will be due March 1st, 2024 with an anticipated publication date honoring the upcoming 50thanniversary of D&D.

Call For Papers, Master Category

CFP: For special issue of Religious Studies

Special Issue Guest editors:
Meghan D. Page, Loyola University Maryland,
US Ignacio Silva, Universidad Austral, Argentina

Religious Studies in collaboration with the SET Foundations Project calls for papers that integrate practice-based philosophy of science with topics in philosophy of religion and theology. The best submitted paper, as judged by a committee, will receive a prize of $5,000. That paper, along with others selected, will be published in a special issue of Religious Studies.

Although both practice-based philosophy of science and philosophy of religion and theology explore topics such as causation, explanation, laws of nature, natural kinds, representation, models, and evidence, there is a significant lack of constructive dialogue between them. However, we believe that deeper theological and philosophical interaction with practice-based philosophy of science is likely to produce novel approaches to the big questions in theology and philosophy of religion.

This new approach encourages scholars to explore general questions regarding the aims and methods of scientific practice
rather than emphasize specific scientific theories or theses. We are particularly interested in work by philosophers of religion and theologians that engages with recent literature in practice-based philosophy of science, exemplified by questions such as: How do scientific explanations work? How do scientists use models? How do causal concepts vary across different domains of scientific inquiry? What are scientific “laws” and do all scientific theories employ them? How do we determine what counts as “good” science? We take this approach to be distinct from theory-based philosophy of science, which focuses on the metaphysical implications of particular scientific theories.

We do not intend to privilege any style or tradition of theology or philosophy. We hope scholars from across the globe will integrate philosophy of science into their preferred theological or philosophical approach. We view this engagement as one aspect of a rich and complex theological methodology, to be appropriately paired with historical, social, and textual analysis. We

invite philosophers of religion and theologians to submit papers that

Examples of possible paper topics include:

  • What counts as evidence for claims in theology and philosophy of religion?
  • How do we understand the content and meaning of theological or religious terms? Do we gather our understanding of these terms from experience?
  • What role do models play in theology? Is doctrine best thought of as a kind of model? Or is it something else?
  • Can experience confirm or undermine theological claims?
  • Are there multiple, distinctive strands of evidence used in • theology? What are they?
  • Can scientific evidence be used as support for theological views?
  • Do multilevel explanations (which integrate more than one scientific theory) offer a path for integrating multiple levels of explanation in theology (e.g. reconciling human and divine action)?
  • Are theological models like scientific models? Can scientific models offer a template for new models in theology?

Deadline for submissions: April 1, 2023

Full papers should be submitted via the Religious Studies Portal (a special section has been established for papers for this issue). Visit the Religious Studies homepage for a description of the journal and instructions to authors. More at setfoundations.com.

Call For Papers

CFP: The Psychological Science of Emotions for Spiritual Formation and Soul Care

In recent years, social scientists have increasingly directed their attention to investigating topics at the intersection of religion, psychology, and human well-being. Among these topics are character traits, virtues, and processes closely associated with growth in Christlikeness, such as gratitude, grace, humility, forgiveness, hope, faith, and suffering. Many of these traits and virtues have characteristic affective states that attend them. Frequently though, emotions are thought to be outside of the range of our will or choice. They are something that happens to us. If true, then the many injunctions of Scripture to cultivate certain emotions and virtues and to avoid others become more perplexing. For this special issue we seek articles that engage empirical
findings from the social sciences to aid spiritual growth by answering questions such as the following:

  • What are the social scientific findings regarding the factors that shape our emotions and by extension impact our virtues (or vices)?
  • What implications do these findings have for what should shape our emotions?
  • What are the implications of these scientific findings for spiritual formation and soul care? How can we apply these insights to growth in Christlikeness?

Answering these questions requires 1) consideration of how to move from descriptive social scientific findings to prescriptive recommendations for growth and 2) integration of social scientific findings with the traditional sources of Christian formation: Scripture and the spiritual experiences of God’s people through the centuries. For this special issue, we seek two kinds of contributions: 1) shorter data-driven descriptions of empirical findings with applicability to Christian formation and 2) theoretical integration and application of scientific findings with spiritual theology.

Submissions Due May 1, 2023
General submission information: https://journals.sagepub.com/author-instructions/JSF
Guest editors: Jason McMartin, Ryan Peterson, Timothy Pickavance, and Kyle Strobel
Questions: jason.mcmartin AT biola.edu

Call For Papers

Call For Papers: Theology and The Office (Deadline Jan31)

Title: Theology and The Office

Volume Editors: Daniel J. Cameron & John W. McCormack

Abstract and CV Due: January 31, 2023

Initial Final Paper Due: June 30, 2023

In 2020, seven years after the show officially ended, the hit NBC series The Office was the number 1 streamed tv show with over 57 billion viewing minutes beating out the second most streamed show (Grey’s Anatomy) by 45%.[1] In 2016, Rolling Stone Magazine listed The Office within the top 50 most popular tv shows of all time.[2] The show has had a lasting and deep influence on the trajectory of popular culture. It is because of The Office, that shows like Brooklyne Nine-Nine, Parks and Recreation, and The Good Place exist.[3]The show is beloved by many for its witty humor, relatable characters, and simple  storyline. But, can The Office be reduced down to another comedy that seeks cheap laughter from its one liners such as “that’s what she said,” its jello pranks, or its absurd characters (i.e. Dwight Shrute) or is there something more, something deeper that we can learn from the things that happen at this fictional Pennsylvania paper company?

This book will argue along with Pam Beasley that “there is a lot of beauty in ordinary things.”[4] Or more specifically there is a lot of theology in ordinary things. This book will be an addition to the Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture series(Lexington Books, Fortress Academic) and while it imagines a broad range of readers, it will be of particular interest to those with an interest in comedy and tv sitcoms, as well as academics interested in intersections of religion and culture.  This volume seeks to gather a diverse group of scholars across the field of theology, religion, and related fields in order to produce a book that will provide both a theological lens through which to view The Office as well as to be a space for current cutting edge theological research to take place.

Potential Topics:

– Vocation/calling

– Friendship/fellowship/romance

– Difficult people, imperfect people

– Ethics in The Office

– Religion, “Religion,” and Religions in the Office

– Holidays/ritual observances/liturgical practice (Halloween episodes, Christmas episodes, pretzel day, Diwali, the Christening, weddings, birthday parties)

– Emotions in The Office (Andy’s anger management, Kelly’s manipulations, Gabe’s anxiety, Dwight’s refusal to smile, Toby’s face, etc.)

 – Gender, Sexuality, Family, and Relationships (Michael Scott’s masculinity; Oscar, Angela, and the Senator; Ryan and Kelly; “You have to tolerate a lot when you’re part of a family.”)

– Bosses and Authority (Michael, Jan, David Wallace, Robert California, etc.) 

– Acceptance and Belonging (Michael: “I like to be liked. I enjoy being liked. I have to be liked, but it’s not like this compulsive need to be liked, like my need to be praised;” “Everybody likes the guy who offers them a stick of gum.” Dwight: “Do you want to form an alliance with me?”)

– Racial and ethnic identities in The Office (Diversity Day, The Convict,  Warehouse employees, IT guy, Hidetoshi Hasagawa, Sabre’s “Print in All Colors” initiative,  etc.)

– Transgression, Sin, and Punishment (Fake firings, Pizza by Alfredo, Michael’s nephew, the Scranton Strangler, etc.)

– Technology (Michael’s GPS; Dunder Mifflin Infinity (2.0); “Unleash the power of the pyramid”; WUPHF)

– Aesthetics, decor, identity (desk toys  and all that)

– Creativity (Here Comes Treble, Improv, Art School, Local Ad, Second Life, the Flenderson Files, etc.)

– Popular Culture in the Office (Parkour, Bobbleheads, Sweeney Todd)

– Time (“It’s a quarter to 5, and I have begun to gather my things.” “I’ve been salesman of the month thirteen out of the last twelve months.”)

– Space and place (The Break Room, the Conference Room, the Warehouse)

– Life inside and outside The Office (Call Center, Schrute Farms, truth and reality, etc.)

– The relationship between the Scranton branch and “Corporate” (and other branches, Sabre/Tallahassee, etc.)

– Cinematography and The Office (Talking Heads and the Idea of Hope, mockumentary style storytelling, etc)

Timeframes:

Please send a 500-word abstract, accompanied by a current CV, to TheologyAndTheOffice@gmail.com by January 31, 2023. Acceptance notifications will be sent out February 15, 2023. Full manuscripts (6,000-8,000 words)  are due on June 30, 2023. Manuscripts will be returned to contributors on August 1, 2023. Final revised manuscripts will be due by October 15, 2023. The completed volume will be submitted to the publisher December 1, 2023 for anticipated publication in 2024.

Daniel J. Cameron holds an MA from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and is a Ph.D. candidate  in systematic theology from the University of Aberdeen and serves as the Bible Department head and Spiritual Life Director at Chicago Hope Academy (IL, USA) where he teaches a course in theology and film.

John W. McCormack holds an MAR from Yale Divinity School and a PhD in History from the University of Notre Dame and is Associate Professor of Religion and History at Aurora University (IL, USA). 

Notes

[1] Rick Porter. “’Ozark,’ ‘the Office’ Lead Nielsen’s 2020 Streaming Rankings.” The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter, January 13, 2021.

[2] Rob Sheffield. “100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.” Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone, July 29, 2019.

[3] Kelly Lawler, “’The Office’ Turns 15: All the Ways NBC’s Quirky Sitcom Changed Pop Culture,” USA Today (Gannett Satellite Information Network, March 24, 2020).

[4] The Office. 2013. Season 9, Episode 25, “Finale.” Directed by Ken Kwapis. Aired May 13, 2013 on NBC.

Grants & Fellowships

Psychology and Theology of Faith Academic Cross-Training Grants – Jan 23 – Application Deadline.

The Psychology of Faith Academic Cross-Training

With the support of the John Templeton Foundation, the University of St. Thomas (MN) announced The Psychology and Theology of Faith sub-granting competition in fall of 2022. The goal is to fund academic cross-training in the psychological sciences for scholars of Christian theology or philosophy of religion with research interests relating to religious belief or religious commitment. Six successful applicants will each receive a $70,000 award providing the opportunity to take courses in and work with mentors from the psychological sciences, in order to apply and leverage insights from the psychological sciences in their work as theologians and philosophers. This project is being supervised by professors Michael Rota (Univ. of St. Thomas) and Elizabeth Jackson (Toronto Metropolitan Univ.)

Applications are due Jan 23, 2023. For more information, see 

https://cas.stthomas.edu/departments/areas-of-study/philosophy/academic-cross-training-grant/index.html.

Conferences, Events, Master Category

Faithful to the Call: Renewing Theological Ethics from the Ground Up

May 11-13th, 2022 | McDonald Centre, Oxford 

What does faithfulness to the call of Christ demand within the political, economic, and social orders of today’s world? Where can Christians turn for help in discerning that call, and how can Christian ethicists serve those who must make difficult moral decisions? 

In May of 2022, prominent ethicists, theologians, philosophers, and practitioners will gather in Oxford to honour Professor Nigel Biggar’s efforts to do Christian ethics from the ground up. Our presenters will mark fifteen years of Biggar’s work as Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology by offering creative and constructive proposals across a wide range of issues, including bioethics, just war, political theology, and academic freedom.

Speakers include: 

Chris Eberle • Jennifer Herdt • Gerald McKenny • James Orr • Daniel Philpott • Charles Mathewes • Patrick Smith • Eric Gregory • Krishan Kumar • Baroness Onora O’Neill

The McDonald Distinguished Lectures will be given by:

Professor Oliver O’Donovan & Professor Nigel Biggar

Register to attend either in person or virtually here.

Note that in-person registrations are currently limited due to Covid.

Los Angeles Theology Conference Logo
Conferences, Master Category

The Spring 2022 Los Angeles Theology Conference is Rescheduled for March 15-17, 2023

The LATC conference scheduled for spring of this year (2022) has been reschedule to March 15-17, 2023. The announcement from the LATC website is copied below.

“Dear Friends and Supporters of the Los Angeles Theology Conference (LATC) series,

We are writing to let you know that after much careful thought and reflection, we have decided to reschedule LATC 2022 to 2023. This is due to the ongoing situation with the pandemic, and the complications this raises for in-person conferences like ours. We have always maintained that the in-person experience is vital to the success of LATC, which is all about discussion, engagement, and reflection on the Christian tradition of the past for the purposes of constructive systematic theology for today and tomorrow. For this reason we have decided to reschedule rather than to move the conference online. We remain committed to the vision of LATC, and to its future. But we think it would not be responsible to run the conference this March given the current state of affairs. So, we will now have the conference on March 15-17, 2023 at Biola University in La Mirada, California. The theme remains the same: ecclesiology. We trust that you will understand the reasons for this change given the extraordinary circumstances we are all having to navigate, and look forward to seeing you in California in March 2023!

—Oliver, Fred, and Katya (the LATC Team)”

Speakers and breakout topics are the same as originally scheduled, for now. (Images and content are from LATC website .

Plenary Speakers

Natalie Carnes – Baylor University – “Nature, Culture, Church: Reconsidering the Church-World Divide”

Millard J. Erickson – Independent scholar – “Ecclesiology in a Postmodern Age”

Tom Greggs- University of Aberdeen -“Creatura Verbi: Hearing the Living Word through the Spirit in the Church”

Jennifer Powell McNutt -Wheaton College -“Exilic Ecclesiology: Suffering and Apostolicity in Early Modern Reformed Theology”

Paul T. Nimmo – University of Aberdeen – “The Sanctification of the Church: Contemplating the Progress of the People of God”

Breakout Papers

Kimlyn J. Bender, George W. Truett Theological Seminary
“Confessing Christ, Confessing the Church”

Beau Branson, Brescia University
Jordan Wessling, Lindsey Wilson College
“The Church as a Singular, Persisting Institution”

Joshua Cockayne, University of St. Andrews
D. T. Everhart, University of St. Andrews
“‘Members of One Another’: Towards a Kierkegaardian Ecclesiology”

Stephen T. Davis, Claremont McKenna College
Eric T. Yang, Santa Clara University
“God’s Story and the Sameness of the Church Over Time”

Steven Duby, Phoenix Seminary
“‘Bond of Peace’: Ecclesial Unity as Participation in the Son and Spirit”

Daniel L. Hill, Dallas Theological Seminary
“Bound Together in the Holy Fire: Purgation and the Unity and Holiness of the Church”

Jonathan Hill, University of Exeter
“Communion of Saints: Knowledge and Love in Heaven and Earth”

Alex Irving, St. Mellitus College, East Midlands
“The Body of Christ: A Soteriological Basis for the Theological Marks of the Church”

Matt Jenson, Torrey Honors College, Biola University
“Either/Or: On the Necessary, But Maverick, Distinction between Church and World”

Adam Johnson, Torrey Honors College, Biola University
“The Cruciform Ministry of the Church: Refracting the Saving Work of Christ”

Marguerite Kappelhoff, University of Divinity, Melbourne
“The Marks of the Church and the Triune God: ‘Seeking and Creating Fellowship’”

Kimberley Kroll, Grand Canyon University
“Holy Branches: A Constructive Model of the Spirit’s Presence in the Church”

Steven Nemes, North Phoenix Preparatory Academy
“The Church and Infallibility”

Open Theology Logo
Call For Papers

Open Theology (Call for Papers) – Cultural Trauma and the Hebrew Bible.

Open Theology (https://www.degruyter.com/OPTH) invites submissions for the topical issue “Cultural Trauma and the Hebrew Bible,” edited by Danilo Verde (KU Leuven) and Dominik Markl (Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome).

Deadline – March 31, 2022

In his work titled Trauma: A Social Theory, American sociologist Jeffrey C. Alexander argues: “Cultural trauma occurs when members of a collectivity feel they have been subjected to a horrendous event that leaves indelible marks upon their group consciousness, marking their memories forever and changing their future identity in fundamental and irrevocable ways” (p. 19). From this perspective, the mere occurrence of historical catastrophes or collective traumas does not necessarily result in cultural trauma, since cultural trauma only emerges when a collective catastrophe indelibly shapes a group’s collective memory and produces a profound revision of that group’s collective identity. Cultural trauma studies by no means constitute a single, monolithic research paradigm; yet, scholars in this field largely agree that cultural traumas “are for the most part historically made, not born” (Neil J. Smelser, Psychological Trauma and Cultural Trauma, 37), in the sense that they are the result of complex social processes.


Assuming the perspective of cultural trauma studies in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament scholarship involves understanding how texts and traditions that eventually formed the HB/OT both represented and shaped ancient Israel’s collective identity as profoundly disrupted and in need of recreation. The HB/OT frequently refers to collective experiences of disasters and crises. We accept papers that investigate the interrelationship between biblical representations of collective suffering and the creation of collective identity in ancient Israel and early Judaism in light of cultural trauma theory. Authors will explore biblical texts such as collective laments, curses, narratives, etc. not only as texts representing and voicing the community’s experience of catastrophic events, but also as tools to shape cultural trauma in ancient Israel and early Judaism. Authors are also encouraged to explore relevant texts as “equipment for living” (see  Kenneth Burke, Literature as Equipment for Living, 593-598) for the addressed community, namely as the literary and religious heritage through which the carrier groups of biblical texts attempted to build social resilience by coping with and giving meaning to collective suffering. Among others, topics or areas of focus might include:

  • Representations of collective trauma in the HB/OT: Narrative texts
  • Representations of collective trauma in the HB/OT: Poetic texts
  • Biblical strategies for the shaping of cultural traumas
  • Biblical strategies for the shaping of social resilience
  • Cultural trauma in the HB/OT and in ancient near Eastern literature: Patterns and motifs
  • Carrier groups of cultural traumas and their agendas in ancient Israel and early Judaism
  • Cultural trauma hermeneutics and historical critical approaches
  • The use of the Bible in shaping cultural trauma in the history of Judaism and Christianity

Authors publishing their articles in the topical issue will benefit from:– Transparent, comprehensive, and efficient peer review.

– Free language assistance for authors from non-English speaking regions. Because Open Theology is published in Open Access, as a rule, publication costs should be covered by so called Article Publishing Charges (APC), paid by authors, their affiliated institutions, funders or sponsors. Authors without access to publishing funds are encouraged to discuss potential discounts or waivers with Managing Editor of the journal Katarzyna Tempczyk (katarzyna.tempczyk@degruyter.com) before submitting their manuscripts.


HOW TO SUBMIT – Submissions will be collected by March 31, 2022, via the on-line submission system at http://www.editorialmanager.com/openth/
Choose as article type: Cultural Trauma and the Hebrew Bible
Before submission the authors should carefully read over the Instruction for Authors, available at: 
https://www.degruyter.com/publication/journal_key/OPTH/downloadAsset/OPTH_Instruction%20for%20Authors.pdf

All contributions will undergo critical peer-review before being accepted for publication.
Further questions about this thematic issue can be addressed to Danilo Verde at danilo.verde@kuleuven.be. In case of technical or financial questions, please contact Managing Editor of the journal Katarzyna Tempczyk at katarzyna.tempczyk@degruyter.com

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Call For Papers

Open Theology (Call for Papers) – After the Theological Turn: Essays in (New) Continental Philosophical Theology

(This announcement is a second call)

“Open Theology” (https://www.degruyter.com/opth) invites submissions for the topical issue “After the Theological Turn: Essays in (New) Continental Philosophical Theology”, edited by Martin Koci (University of Vienna).

DESCRIPTION

This topical issue aims to explore, interrogate and reflect on the ways in which contemporary continental philosophy, and phenomenology in particular, unfolds and advances the development of philosophical theology. What does it mean to practice theology after the philosophical return to religion? During the last few decades, the renewal of theology has been much discussed in light of philosophical lectures that have revisited fundamental Christian concepts. However, the debate seems to be stuck on rather formal questions about whether the theological turn happened or not, whether it has been a legitimate or illegitimate development, and whether theology and philosophy can benefit at all from reconsidering their disciplinary borders. Moreover, from the theological perspective, crucial issues continue to be unresolved: What should the proper propaedeutic framework for theological work be in a secular context? How to formulate theologically valid as well as contextually plausible truth-claims? What kind of grammar should be employed in theology to create not only rational but also credible discourse? The working hypothesis behind this thematic issue is that philosophical—in particular phenomenological—engagement with theological concepts transforms the fundamental theological practice, revisits its rigor, and provides the possibility of developing an intelligible grammar for articulating normative theological claims. 

     We invite scholars in theology and continental philosophy of religion to address the following questions: Is phenomenology a suitable ancilla theologiae to provide theologians with sufficient philosophical grammar? Is it possible to develop, after the demise of metaphysics, a phenomenological theology? How does theology look after Marion, Henry, Chrétien, Lacoste, Falque et al.? Does theology benefit from philosophical reconsiderations of fundamental Christian concepts such as Revelation, the Incarnation, the Resurrection, etc.? The nerve and, at the same time, novelty of raising the question about after the theological turn is a critical application of explicit theological perspectives to thus test both the potential of and limits to philosophical reconsiderations of the theological for formulating plausible as well as credible theology.

Authors publishing their articles in the topical issue will benefit from:

– transparent, comprehensive and fast peer review,

– free language assistance for authors from non-English speaking regions.

Because “Open Theology” is published under an Open Access model, as a rule, publication costs should be covered by Article Publishing Charges (APC), paid by authors, their affiliated institutions, funders or sponsors.

Authors without access to publishing funds are encouraged to discuss potential discounts or waivers with Managing Editor of the journal Katarzyna Tempczyk (katarzyna.tempczyk@degruyter.com) before submitting their manuscripts. 

HOW TO SUBMIT

Submissions will be collected until April 15, 2022, via the on-line submission system at http://www.editorialmanager.com/openth/.

* Choose as article type: “After the Theological Turn”
* Before submission the authors should carefully read over the Instruction for Authors, available at: https://www.degruyter.com/publication/journal_key/OPTH/downloadAsset/OPTH_Instruction%20for%20Authors.pdf
* All contributions will undergo critical peer-review before being accepted for publication.

Further questions about this thematic issue can be addressed to Martin Koci at martin.koci@univie.ac.at. In case of technical or financial questions, please contact journal Managing Editor Katarzyna Tempczyk at katarzyna.tempczyk@degruyter.com.

Conferences

Winter Seminar on Progress in Theology. Jan 27-29, 2022 (Abraham Kuyper Center)

From the 27th till the 29th of January 2022 the Winter Seminar on Progress in Theology will take place. The program schedule is now online!

We are looking forward to a great discussion on the status of the discipline of theology. Among the speakers are Katherin Rogers, Kevin Schilbrack, Benedikt Göcke and Jennifer Frey. Join the seminar to discuss the theological epistemology, the influence of secularization on the discipline of theology, the intellectual tasks of theology, and many more interesting topics.

Description

Whereas many contemporary universities originated from theological programs, over the past centuries the status of theology as a proper academic discipline has become heavily contested. Among the many allegations levelled against theology is the idea that there is no progress in theology. The aim of this Winter Seminar is to investigate under which conditions, if any, theology can still function as an intellectually respectable player in the field of public academic studies. In particular, it zooms in on the notion of progress in theology. Is there any such progress? If not, is that a problem? If so, what shape does such progress take and are there ways in which theology might make more progress?

More information and registration

The seminar is organized by the Abraham Kuyper Center, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, as a part of the research project on Epistemic Progress in the University.

The seminar takes place online and on location at the Pakhuis de Zwijger, Amsterdam.

Online attendance is free. Click here to register through Eventbrite.

More information can be found on the website of the Abraham Kuyper Center.

Call For Papers

“Death & Religion” CFP by Open Theology (second call)

 A call for papers has been issued by Open Theology for a topical issue on “Death and Religion”

This is a (second call). Submissions will be collected until April 30, 2022

    “Open Theology” (https://www.degruyter.com/journal/key/OPTH/html) invites submissions for the topical issue “Death and Religion”, edited by Khyati Tripathi, Jennifer Moran Stritch and Peter G.A.Versteeg.

    Death and religion share an interdependent relation. Where death is an event or state that threatens to disintegrate worlds and meaning, religion can be seen as a practice that categorizes, consoles and makes sense of this kind of disintegration. According to Oxford dictionary, death is defined as “end of life”, but behind this simple definition, there is a web of complex ideas that could be understood from not just biological but also religious or cultural perspectives. Death has been conceptualized differently in different religious traditions as their texts and practices demonstrate. According to Lifton, religion is ‘life power’ and dominates death. Similarly, Davies put forth rituals as culture’s ‘words against death’.

     The relationship between death and religion should be seen as a broad scholarly query, which includes philosophical and theological questions, as well as more applied perspectives such as social work. Although death is a clinical process of organs that cease to function, dying and death are events that are surrounded by various sense-making practices, ranging from intricate traditional ceremonies as part of established religious repertoires, to more personal, individualized rituals. Social-cultural context, therefore, is of utmost importance to understand how we interact with dying persons and dead bodies, and why we do it in that particular way.

    In theology we see how faith traditions historically account for the reality of death, reflecting upon its existential meaning and thus trying to understand how to deal with the event of death. As such, a theology of death raises both practical (e.g. in spiritual care) and systematical (e.g. in ethics) questions regarding death and dying.

     In psychology death anxiety or fear of death invited a great deal of interest starting in the late 1950s with Fiefel’s work on death anxiety and religion. Different studies pointed at different relationships between death anxiety and religiousness; some studies found a positive relationship between the two while others found an inverse relationship.  Some research argued for a curvilinear relationship between death anxiety and religiousness, explaining that moderately religious participants have more death anxiety than those who are extremely religious or not religious at all. The relationship between religion and death anxiety has been an inconclusive one because of the multidimensional nature of both religion and death anxiety. There is, however, a lack of scholarship on death anxiety and religion in non-western cultures.

    In cultural anthropology, death studies have developed into a substantial research niche. There has been ample attention for practices pertaining to e.g. the process of dying, death as transition, as well as to the interaction with the dead body. Important here, too, is the global perspective on death, also in the sense of engaging with ontologies of life and death outside of the established scientific-medical spectrum.

    This special issue encourages scholars from different disciplines, not just restricted to the ones we mentioned, to contribute to this debate. Of special interest are situations in which religion becomes overbearing and a burden to carry forward in times of death, or if religious practices are obstructed, for example, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. How do these crisis situations affect the relationship between religion and death? This special issue aims at invoking curiosity, enquiry and interest in looking at the different facets of this topic.

     The special issue on ‘Death and Religion’ invites empirical (qualitative and quantitative), review/conceptual and analytical papers focusing on the different facets of this relationship from scholars in different disciplines such as: Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Theology, Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Thanatology, Health Humanities, Social Care and Social Work. Among others, topics or areas of focus might include:

  • Death anxiety and religiosity in non-western cultures
  • The different perspectives to ‘Extrinsic Religiosity’
  • Is ‘Intrinsic Religiosity’ really the reliever of anxiety?
  • Psychological/sociological/psychosocial significance of death rituals
  • The changing nature of death rituals
  • Personal religious beliefs and ideas about death
  • Belief in afterlife and death anxiety
  • The changing relationship between death and religion due to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • The non-religious traditions and death
  • Autoethnographic accounts of performing/witnessing death rituals
  • Death as latent and religion as evident in Freudian texts
  • Religious Literacy and the end of life care
  • Extinction as ultimate death and other morbid anxieties of the Anthropocene

Authors publishing their articles in the topical issue will benefit from:

– transparent, comprehensive and efficient peer review,

– free language assistance for authors from non-English speaking regions.

Because “Open Theology” is published in Open Access, as a rule, publication costs should be covered by so called Article Publishing Charges (APC), paid by authors, their affiliated institutions, funders or sponsors.

Authors without access to publishing funds are encouraged to discuss potential discounts or waivers with Managing Editor of the journal Katarzyna Tempczyk (katarzyna.tempczyk@degruyter.com) before submitting their manuscripts.

HOW TO SUBMIT

Submissions will be collected until April 30, 2022, via the on-line submission system at http://www.editorialmanager.com/openth/

Choose as article type: “Death and Religion”

Before submission the authors should carefully read over the Instruction for Authors, available at: https://www.degruyter.com/publication/journal_key/OPTH/downloadAsset/OPTH_Instruction%20for%20Authors.pdf

All contributions will undergo critical peer-review before being accepted for publication.

 Further questions about this thematic issue can be addressed to Khyati Tripathi at khyatitripathi27@gmail.com. In case of technical or financial questions, please contact journal Managing Editor Katarzyna Tempczyk at katarzyna.tempczyk@degruyter.com

University of St. Andrews Logo
Grants & Fellowships, Opportunities

Two Funded PhD Scholarships in Philosophical Theology – St. Andrews Univ – Apply by 15 Jan. 2022

Two funded PhD scholarships are available for those interested in doing research in philosophical theology.

*Deadline is 15, January 2022*

As part of the international research initiative Widening Horizons in Philosophical Theology, two fully funded PhD studentships are being offered in philosophical theology in the broadly continental tradition.  

Scholarships comprise home or overseas fees, as well as living support of c. £16,000 per year. Students will be part of the School of Divinity and pursue their proposed projects under the supervision of Prof Judith Wolfe and/or Dr King-Ho Leung. 

Projects should participate in the vision of Widening Horizons. 

Questions? 

Informal enquiries may be directed to Prof Wolfe or Dr Leung. 

How do I apply? 

Applications should be submitted through the PhD application portal of the University of St Andrews by 15 January 2022. 

Widening Horizons in Philosophical Theology (WHiPT)

Call For Papers

Deadline Extension – TheoLogica CFP on Analytic Science Engaged Theology

The journal TheoLogica  has published a CALL FOR PAPERS on ANALYTIC SCIENCE-ENGAGED THEOLOGY 

Deadline for submissions is now extended to January 31st 2022 

Joanna Leidenhag (University of St Andrews) 

Benedikt Paul Göcke (Ruhr University Bochum/ University of Oxford) 

Analytic theology and Science-Engaged Theology are two of the most exciting  movements within theology in recent years. Both are interdisciplinary endeavours that  seek to use the tools and insights from others sub-disciplines (areas of analytic  philosophy and the natural sciences, respectively) in the service of theology. Analytic  theology and science-engaged theology both maintain the primacy and integrity of the  theological task, whilst simultaneously inviting other disciplines to enrich theological  reflection, criticism, and declaration. 

What these recent trends show is that theologians no longer need to (if they ever did) fear forms of rationalism or empiricism that, in previous generations, have been used to  exclude theological discourse from the public square or academic University. It is clearly  the case that theologians have long appealed to reason and experience as sources for  theological reflection and correction. But in analytic theology and science-engaged  theology, we can see that theologians can also use (as well as critique) the highly  constrained, specialised, and systematised forms of reasoning and evidencing that is  found in analytic philosophy and the natural sciences. Analytic theology and science engaged theology are in this sense complementary movements that signal that theology  has now reached a kind of quiet confidence that does not need to fight, flee or submit to  other forms of inquiry. 

Whilst analytic theology and science-engaged theology have developed separately, they  substantially overlap on the question of how theology can best engage other disciplines.  Thus, there is scope for a further alliance of these movements in the form of analytic  science-engaged theology. Such an analytic science-engaged theology would use the tools  of both analytic philosophy and some specific area of the natural sciences within their  theology. We are inviting papers that exemplify this kind of fine-grained, interdisciplinary,  constructive theological work. We are not primarily looking for papers that discuss the  possibility or nature of analytic science-engaged theology, but for papers that exemplify  this sub-field by exploring a theological question using both scientific and analytic  resources. 

We welcome all forms of analytic science-engaged theology; in particular, we are very  interested in papers that engage a theological tradition outside of mainstream Christianity,  or which prioritize the voices of marginalized groups.” 

EXTENDED Deadline for submissions: October 1st 2021 January 31st 2022 

Full papers should be submitted via our website:  

https://ojs.uclouvain.be/index.php/theologica/index or sent to:  managingeditor.theologica @ gmail.com. In order to contribute equally to scientific international discussions held in several languages, articles written in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish are accepted. Visit the TheoLogica homepage for a description of the journal and instructions to authors.

K.H. Miskotte’s Biblical ABCs An International Theology Conference 8-9th November 2021
Conferences

Register soon! Online conference Nov 8-9 on Dutch theologian K. H. Miskotte’s recently translated wartime text – Biblical ABC’s

The Aberdeen Centre for Protestant Theology is delighted to be working with colleagues in the Netherlands at the PThU, De Nieuwe Bijbelschool and Miskotte-Stichting to host an online conference on 8th-9th of November 2021 on Kornelis H. Miskotte’s book ‘Biblical ABCs’. This important wartime text has been newly translated into English this year and published this autumn by Rowan and Littlefield.

Katherine Sonderegger, Philip Ziegler, Susannah Ticciati, Christopher Chalamet, Rinse Reeling Brouwer, Collin Cornell, Eleonora Hof and Mirjam Elbers will all contribute to the discussion of the meaning and topicality of K.H. Miskotte’s theology of resistance. 

You can register now at: https://www.miskotte.com/.

Registration is open until 5th November 2021.

Tickets are only – €10.50

All those who register will receive a 50% discount code to put toward purchase of the book.

SET Foundations Logo
Events, Grants & Fellowships, Opportunities

SET Foundations is accepting applications for summer 2022!

SET Foundations has a wonderful opportunity for early and mid-career theologians and philosophers of religion. We are excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for our Summer Session 2022 The focus is on Experience to Evidence: Theory Construction and Confirmation

SET Foundations (Building Foundations in Science-Engaged Theology: Insights from Philosophy of Science ) is hosted by Loyola University Maryland. Our goal is to connect scholars working in philosophy of religion and theology with recent insights from philosophy of science on topics such as causation, explanation, modeling practices, scientific confirmation, and natural laws.

Bavinck image with conference dates.
Conferences, Events & Conferences

Bavinck Centenary Conference – December 6-7, 2021 – Brisbane School of Theology.

To mark the centenary of the death of Dutch theologian and statesman, Herman Bavinck (1854-1921), Brisbane School of Theology will be convening a two-day conference. Five plenary sessions will examine the contours of Bavinck’s theology, two roundtables will consider Bavinck’s relevance for contemporary Christianity, and short papers will address various aspects of Bavinck’s life, thought, and legacy. Previously planned for June, the conference was postponed 6 months on account of COVID-19. It will be convened in person (this December) in Brisbane but with a Zoom option for those who cannot attend because of travel restrictions

Plenary Sessions

‘Herman Bavinck’s Use of Scripture’ Koert van Bekkum, Kampen Theological University
‘Herman Bavinck’s Appropriation of Reformed Sources’ Henk van den Belt, Free University of Amsterdam
‘Herman Bavinck’s Use of Philosophy’ Oliver Crisp, University of St Andrews
‘Herman Bavinck as a Trinitarian Theologian’ Graham Cole, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
‘Herman Bavinck as a Politician’ James Eglinton, University of Edinburgh

Short Papers

Registration

  • Registration for In Person Attendance closes November 22.
  • Registration for Zoom Attendance – closes December 5.

See website for registration links and attendance costs.

ACCOMMODATION – Click here for official conference webpage and accommodation links.

Image of William Abraham in a library.
Faculty Updates, Master Category

William J. Abraham 1947-2021

Last week many in the theology community gave voice to sorrow at the sudden passing of theologian William J. Abraham. Abraham was a winsome philosophical theologian, Methodist scholar, and philosophical theologian. Among his many publications are books on divine revelation, the Christian canon, evangelism, divine action, and grief. Abraham was one of the editors for the Oxford Handbook of the Epistemology of Theology. This year, the fourth of his four volume set on Divine Agency and Divine Action was released. Comments appeared quickly across social media about how “Billy” Abraham impacted lives as a teacher, scholar, and friend. We have included links to some tributes to Abraham below.

You can read about William Abraham’s legacy at the Eerdman’s blog here.

A United Methodist News article on Abraham’s life and passing can be found here.

A “Tribute to William J. Abraham” can be read on the Wesleyan Covenant Association website here.

Frederick Schmidt’s memories can be read here on Patheos.