Whose Christianity Anyway? Theological Contestations in the Public & Political: Academic Conference

Keynote Speakers:

Marietta van der Tol, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Cambridge.

ABSTRACT

It is unmistakable that within the last few decades, rather than religion disappearing from public life, there has been a sharp rise in the number of political and societal actors who claim religious affiliation. From politicians and political parties to terror organisations, claims are made to not only what religion is, but who are the custodians of the faith. Responses from across the humanities have considered the role religions play in these public declarations of religious affiliation, but regularly fall short of fully encompassing the depth and breadth of these theologies--implicit or otherwise. While it may seem that the responses from across sociology, political science, and legal studies are succeeding in addressing the role of Christianity in particular, in political and social movements, there is a chasm between these studies and Christian theology more generally, leading to incomplete or failed analysis. This conference seeks to explore two deeply interconnected issues. The first concerns the claims to Christianity made politically, culturally, socially by those in the public sphere and the challenge this poses for theologians and churches. The second is what role theology ought to play in addressing or analysing these claims to Christianity alongside our colleagues in the wider humanities. 

This conference invites reflections from across various fields in the humanities on both issues, including the claims made about the relationship between Christianity and so called established categories like ‘nation’, state’, ‘culture’ and ‘ethnicity’. We also invite reflections on comparisons between European and non-European claims to Christianity within a political or social context, and wider reflections on how theology should consider future approaches both collaboratively and individually to address and tackle socio-cultural and political claims to Christianity in the 21st Century. 

The following prompts may help guide prospective attendees regarding submission of abstracts: 

• What sort of claims are being made for Christianity in the public and political spheres? 
• In what ways do non-European claims to Christianity differ from European claims being made by politicians and this win the public sphere? 
• What theological responses have been made to challenge these claims, and how effective have they been?
• What role does theology have working alongside other fields in the humanities looking ahead into the future?