Showing papers in "International Journal of Public Theology in 2012"

Interfaith Community Organizing Emerging Theological and Organizational Challenges

Abstract: Interfaith work in the United States takes diverse forms: from grass-roots collaboration on projects such as feeding the homeless, to locally-sponsored interfaith dialogues, collaborations sponsored by national denominational bodies and shared work on federal ‘faith-based initiatives’. This article profiles the characteristics and dynamics of a particular type of interfaith work, done under the rubric of ‘broad-based’, ‘faith-based’ or ‘congregation-based’ community organizing. For reasons detailed below, we term this form of interfaith and religious-secular collaboration ‘institution-based community organizing’. By drawing on results from a national survey of all local institution-based community organizations active in the United States in 2011, this article documents the significance of the field, its broadly interfaith profile, how it incorporates religious practices into organizing, and the opportunities and challenges that religious diversity presents to its practitioners and to North American society.1

Can Public Theology Be Practised beyond the State

Abstract: article reflects on the relationship between public theology and the state. It sug- gests that a state-centric paradigm plays a signifijicant role in the self-understanding and practice of public theology, and that transnationalism can serve as correction to state- centrism. It argues that these concepts complement the existing discourse on glocal- ization in public theology. The article investigates the role of churches in the struggle against apartheid as an early example of transnationalism in public theology. The con- cluding section shows that transnationalism may aid the practitioners of public theol- ogy to reflect critically on its relation to the state. Keywordstheology, transnationalism, apartheid, Global Compact, state-centrism

Faithful Untidiness: Christian Social Action in a British City

Abstract: Contemporary debates about faith and volunteering raise questions about the relationship between, on the one hand, claims from theological ethics about the sources and forms of Christian action in the world and, on the other hand, claims and assumptions in policy discourse about why people of faith undertake voluntary work. Using findings from a small-scale study of volunteers in a Christian social action organization in the UK, we argue that a narrative- and community-focused theological ethics can offer an important corrective to oversimplified accounts of volunteer motivation, but that it needs to give a theological account of the multiple overlapping narratives and communities that form ethical character, and also of the gratuitous and ‘extraordinary’ nature of voluntary action. In dialogue with Paul Cloke, Nicholas Adams and Charles Elliott, Luke Bretherton and others, we propose ‘sustained untidiness’ as a starting-point for theological descriptions of Christian social action in a multi-faith and secular society.

Models of Public Theology

Abstract: In this article, different models of public theology are characterized according to the reasons given for the importance of and need for a public theology (foundational models) and the ways proposed for its realization (action models). There are three emphases of identified foundations: the first understands public theology as a task driven by God (model of disclosure); the second anchors the need for public theology in religious questions that affect all of humanity (universal model); the third bases itself on the finding of the public presence of religious discourse in contemporary society (factual model). With regards to the prospects for action, three principal ways are identified, which affirm the possibility of the publicization of theology: addressing different audiences, such as the academy and the church (model of the audience); articulating itself through a style and an accessible form of argument (apologetic model); addressing contextual challenges (contextual model).

Pentecostalism and Citizenship in Brazil: Between Escapism and Dominance

Abstract: Brazil is, today, the most Catholic, but also the most Pentecostal country in the world. The Pentecostal churches, namely the Assemblies of God, have been particularly successful among the poorest of the poor. There is little discourse on citizenship in Pentecostal churches, and its theological bases still seem to foster escapism; yet, believers regain a sense of dignity and respect for themselves and for others as they discover themselves as bearers of the Holy Spirit. In addition, contrary to the general perception, there are signs of a sense of responsibility for the whole human being, the environment and the common good. However, the relatively recent principle of ‘brother votes for brother’ tends to narrow down internal and external attention in terms of politics to the election of Pentecostal politicians, with all its ambivalences and a danger to seek dominance. This article argues that a third way between escapism and dominance, guided by a public theology, is possible.

From the Sacristy to the Public Square The Public Character of Theology

Abstract: This article is a study of the public role of Christian theology in contemporary democratic societies. It focuses on the role of theologians as intellectuals in the public square, as defenders of values like justice, democracy and peace. After a brief reflection on Brazilian experiences of the presence of Christians in public debates, it discusses the role of intellectuals such as Habermas, Bourdieu, Said, Bauman and others.

Receiving from the Other: Theology and Grass-Roots Organizing

Abstract: Many Christian theologians today highlight the absence of community and the common good as values in a secular culture: absence that privileges individualism, autonomy and self-sufficiency. Theological perspectives and grass-roots organizing invoke mutual accountability as a key feature of political life that sustains human flourishing for all. Theological community takes the form of sacrament, worship and creed in the encounter with Christian tradition and narratives. The grass-roots Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) and similar organizations form community through relational meetings and the enhancement of human agency in American society. Both theological and grass-roots communities provide alternatives to the individualism of secular society. Attention to the gifts of theology and grass-roots organizing encourages the growth of a broader cultural imagination, theological attention to conflict and negotiation, and mutual accountability in receptive encounter with the other.

Public Theology in Brazil: The Political and Institutional Aspects

Abstract: This article analyses the situation of higher education courses in theology in Brazil, from a political and institutional point of view. It notes the need to adopt the epistemological status of theology itself as a parameter of institutionalization, in order to overcome the exclusively political criteria that have governed the process of accreditation of those courses, as well as the construction of curriculum guidelines. It affirms the ‘public’ aspect as inherent to theological reflection. Theology being a logos of faith structured originally within the university may, in the same space, be recognized as legitimate and established knowledge, according to the academic rules of the scientific community.

Justice between Fairness and Love? Christian Ethics in Dialogue with Rawls and Niebuhr

Abstract: There are many different approaches to justice, both theological and secular. These different approaches and diverse theories need not be exclusive, but can play an important role in a dialogue on justice. Since justice is never completely just, it is imperative to always be critical of laws and policies while guarding against moral superiority and oppression. To this end, this article seeks to enter into a critical dialogue between John Rawls and Reinhold Niebuhr from a theological perspective. It critically examines their main ideas and focuses on the role of community, the importance of moral dialogue, the priority of the poor and the unique issues raised by globalization.

The Possibility of Citizen Theology: Public Theology after Christendom and the Enlightenment

Abstract: In this article the authors outline and critique two models of public theology in order to advance a new, more helpful, approach. The context is British but the intention is to draw lessons for public theology in the global west. The state of British public theology is briefly surveyed and found to be in some disarray. The most common models—char- acterized as ‘disciple theology’ and ‘liberal activist theology’—are critically analysed and found in significant ways to be inadequate for purpose. The model of ‘citizen theol- ogy’ as an approach to doing public theology is advanced, developed and discussed as an alternate. The central features of citizen theology are put forward for analysis. These include the importance of developing the virtues, creating poetic and parabolic dis- course, and creating imaginative theological categories and theories.

‘Marketplace Masculinities’ Within the International Public Arena of Global Media: Towards a Christian Spiritual Approach to Male Embodiment and ‘Genital Ensoulment’

Abstract: Under the pressure of deconstruction, criticism within the gender discourse, and the fading away of the traditional patriarchal male role functions, male identity is in a crisis. Due to the impact of the mass media, masculinities are currently mostly determined by the healthiness, body-image and achievement ethics of a market-driven economy (marketplace masculinities). It becomes closely associated with the instant need-satisfaction of a consumerist society. As a public issue, maleness is moulded by power, six-pack fitness, wealth, success, money and phallus. Plastic instant masculinity is shaped by the ancient old symbol of phallus, the post-modern Zeus: Rambo, and the leisure idol of playboy. This article considers the extent to which the Christian spiritual notion of phronesis within inhabitational theology can reframe masculinities, and argues that from a spiritual perspective males can grow into compassionate men. The article concludes that patriarchal headship should be transformed and replaced by the theological public of servant-hood and the trans-cultural notion of an eschatological identity.

The Church and Society Movement and the Roots of Public Theology in Brazilian Protestantism

Abstract: Brazilian Protestantism in its origins tended to develop a kind of pietistic and individualistic spirituality without much concern with the social structures of Brazilian society. Nevertheless, in its historical relation with a reality marked by poverty, social injustice and oppression, some Brazilian Protestants began to develop a sense of social responsibility and social justice, which has been manifest in different ways. This article is an overview of the first attempt from a Protestant viewpoint to develop a public theological discourse in Brazil, during the 1950s and early 1960s. It focuses on the Religion and Society movement, which not only preceded liberation theology in Latin America, but also dialogued with liberationist thought and influenced it, as well as other later public discourses among Catholics and Protestants in Latin America. Richard Shaull was the first significant organic intellectual who mediated the dialogue between European/North American theologies and the Latin American public theology, which was in the making.

Public Theology and Political Ethics

Abstract: The article explains the fundamental features of the Lutheran two kingdoms doctrine and the Reformed doctrine of the Lordship of Christ and finds strong convergences of both in addressing political realities without leaving the Gospel perspective aside. Since Catholic concepts show a similar profile, an ecumenical public theology emerges. Six guidelines for a public church are presented to describe the consequences of a public theological approach to politics for the churches. Authentic faith witness is as much part of these guidelines as ‘bilinguality’, that is, the capability to talk the language of secular discourse and prophetic speech, which is put in relationship to the necessity of concrete daily political processes. Thus, in the end the article explains the profile of public theology in relation to liberation theology and political theology.

Three Public Cultures

Abstract: Ten years after the original publication of Going Public, it is interesting to see what chapters continue to resonate with readers. The chapter included here, ‘Three Public Cultures’, heads the list of those that generate ongoing comment. In it, I outline how I see market, bureaucratic and relational cultures functioning within specifijic institutions and across social and political boundaries. In Denmark, recently, I was asked to give several talks and workshops to labour, civic and political party leaders. In preparing for my visit, the local coordinators recommended that those attending read this chapter, and many questions and comments were made by people who either agreed or disagreed with my thesis. The editors of this important issue of IJPT and its consideration of organizing also believed that this chapter would be useful to the reader. Over the last decade, our understanding of the innate qualities and powerful patterns of the market, the bureaucracy and what we call the relational approaches has become clearer. Worldwide, many institutions in the religious, political and civic sectors have realized that they have drifted from an intensely relational early founding stage to a more bureaucratic period in their organizational lives: they multiply committees, departments and programmes; they add more stafff and expand their budgets; they reach for more market-oriented ‘sales’ responses. Or they seek a solution in technological or social media strategies, but they fail to grow. In fact, they continue to decline. Meanwhile, the market culture has blundered forward with even more force—both creative

Using God-Talk in a Secular Society: Time for a New Conversation on Public Issues?

Abstract: The role that religious language should play in the ‘public square’ has long been a matter of debate. As Rawls, Rorty, Audi and others have long argued, albeit with subtle variations, discussion on public issues must be truly ‘public’ and therefore employ vocabulary, principles and reasoning which are intelligible to any reasonable person and based on public canons of validity. But does this argument do justice to religious voices? Can the growing number of such voices clamouring for the right to be heard continue to be ignored? Does excluding conviction-based language from public debate lessen the quality of that debate and the potential to find effective solutions to policy challenges? Drawing upon recent work by Jonathan Chaplin, Rowan Williams, Roger Trigg and Michael Sandel, this article examines the current state of scholarship on the question of language in public discourse, and concludes that the case for ‘confessional candour’ to be accepted in such discourse is overwhelming and could have a positive effect on policy outcomes. A prerequisite to this, however—at least within the context of New Zealand—will be a fresh debate about the meaning and scope of the term ‘secularism’.

Funding and Teaching Challenges Facing Faith-Based Organizing

Abstract: Faith-based organizing in the United States faces two major practical challenges: funding its work and teaching its approach to the next generation of pastors. With these challenges in mind, the editors asked Sheila Greeve Davaney, until recently a programme officer with the Ford Foundation, to reflect on her experience of funding the work of faith-based organizing networks. John Bowlin, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Jarrett Kerbel, a pastor in Philadelphia, recently team taught a course on theology and organizing at the seminary; the editors asked them to reflect on their classroom experience. Their experience was enriched by the presence of Elizabeth Valdez, an organizing network leader from Texas, who was on sabbatical in Princeton at the time, and was invited by Bowlin, while she audited his class, to share her grass-roots experience with the students. It is fitting that Valdez has the last word in this special issue, as an organizer who is committed to the goal of fostering dialogue between theologians and researchers in the academy and citizens and leaders in the community.

Churches Unusual: Worship and Broad-Based Organizing in Two Brooklyn Congregations

Abstract: The following is an ethnographical study of two ‘churches unusual’ in Brooklyn, New York, USA: ‘unusual’ because all are members of a local citizen’s organization. East Brooklyn Congregations (EBC) is itself an affiliate of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), a broad-based organizing network grounded in the idea that the most potent power is found in community relationships. The ethnography presented here of two EBC member institutions—Hope Christian Center and St Paul Community Baptist Church—moves back and forth between each congregation’s worship and participation in the citizens’ organization to which it belongs. In juxtaposing their religious practice and organizing, this article explores the relationship between them, asking how religious identities are changed in the organizing process.

Theology as an Intellectual Vocation: Some Thoughts on the Theo-logical Vision of Simone Weil

Abstract: The French philosopher Simone Weil always understood her privileged access to the intellectual world as a ‘terrible’ responsibility, and at the same time as a way opened for the service she was called to provide to society, particularly to the oppressed and the unfortunate in its midst. Her life, experience and reflection are the content of this article. The experience and reflection of Weil can be understood as theo-logy, as it is and wants to be a permanent search and encounter with truth, which at a certain point of her life she will identify with the God of Jesus Christ. The consequences of this ‘theo-logy’ for the public space generate a true ‘fundamental public theology’, especially in the domain of intelligence and culture. Weil’s thought can be considered an important contribution for what we understand today, dynamically, as ‘public theology’; that is, a presence of faith in the world of science and thinking.

Leaders in Faith-Based Organizing Networks

Abstract: As well as including articles from four research scholars and extracts from two key texts on organizing in the USA, the editors invited leaders from four of the major organizing networks—Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), Pacific Institute for Community Organization (PICO), Gamaliel and Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ)—to contribute to this special issue from their perspective as organizers. Two of the leaders are pastors and two write from their viewpoint as national staff workers with faith-based networks. All four contributors were asked to reflect on their experience of organizing in local communities and across the nation; to consider what for them are the most important theological and theoretical issues.

Public Theological Remarks on Time Discounting and Intergenerational Justice

Abstract: This article inhabits an interdisciplinary space between ecological economics and public theology. After the publication of the 2007 Stern report a debate ensued about the way the economic tool of time discounting is applied as a means to assess the cost of climate change. In this article, the debate is reviewed and the notions of intergenerational justice, sacrifice, stewardship and servant leadership in the Christian tradition are subsequently identified as valuable resources that are recognized by a growing number of philosophers, economists and business leaders, as being of benefit to the conversation on the present generation’s responsibilities to future generations. Time discounting is regarded in this article as a morally questionable economic method to weigh the costs of climate change.

Does Vatican II Represent a U-Turn in the Catholic Church’s Teaching on Liberal Democracy?

Abstract: This article analyses the attitude of the Roman Catholic Church towards liberal democracy since the nineteenth century, charting shifts in emphasis and tone under Pope Leo XIII in the late nineteenth century and under Pius XII during the Second World War. It then examines how, if at all, church teaching in this area changed during and after the Second Vatican Council. Attention is paid to the historical context and doctrinal status of these teachings. It is argued that the church position on democracy over the last two centuries is characterized by development and continuity rather than disjuncture and contradiction. This position was neither as hostile in the nineteenth century nor as sympathetic in the twentieth century as is claimed by those who regard Vatican II as a ‘U-turn’ in church teaching. Liberal democracy remains a contested terrain and the church position towards it remains one of critical dialogue.

Toward a Methodology and Public Discourse of Christological Concreteness: Lessons from a Discussion of Health Care Rationing in the United States

Abstract: A recent passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has once again sparked fierce public debates within the United States over the permissibility of health care rationing. Unfortunately only a handful of public theologians have addressed this issue, and those who have often fail to draw upon Jesus’ ethical praxis. This article corrects this lacuna by offering a clarifying theological analysis and defence of one form of rationing, known as Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER), through a proposed method of Christological concreteness. The article begins by outlining which CER provisions are included in the ACA, and then discusses how they will re-shape US public health expenditures in the future. An examination of Richard Land’s and Jim Wallis’s theological evaluations of rationing is used to demonstrate that, while each is helpful in some respects, both omit the moral saliency of Jesus. To correct these shortcomings, the article draws upon some recent methodological trends within Christian ethics and devises a Christological method based upon a synthesis of integrative, canonical, reiterative, embodied and incarnational variables. Finally, a critical analysis of Allen Verhey’s discussion of health care rationing explains why his approach not only provides a compelling justification for using CER but also a preferable approach for public theology.