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Liberal theology in (post)modernity

Liberal theology has its roots in the early nineteenth century. It criticised orthodox supernaturalism and biblical belief, but stressed the importance of religion. At the beginning of the twentieth century, it was sharply criticised by dialectical theologians, who forced it to redefine itself. During the 20th century, liberal theology was criticised by liberation theology as being bourgeois and received sharp criticism from postmodernists. Nevertheless, a liberal theological tradition developed that sought to mediate between Christianity and (post)modern culture.

  • Course content

    In this course, we will consider what liberal theology is. We will pay attention to the great scholars Schleiermacher, Troeltsch and Tillich. Then we will focus on liberal theology - a modern way of doing theology - in a postmodern context. We will draw our attention to the work of Richard Kearney, John Caputo and Catherine Keller, whose theology presupposes a liberal theology, yet integrates a postmodern point of view and still maintains a religious perspective. They developed a theology of ‘God after God’ from different backgrounds and in different ways, but seem to agree in several respects.

  • Size

    The seminar is 7.5 ECTS:

    • 24 lecture hours
    • 120 hours self-study
    • 66 hours paper

  • Period

    September to November 2025

  • For who?

    Are you interested in identifying the liberal theological tradition in the history of nineteenth- and twentieth-century theology? Do you want to be able to reflect on our current postmodern, postsecular and postcolonial context? Do you want to be able to understand postmodern and non-Western critiques of liberal theological projects and take a position on current developments? Then this course is for you.

  • Literature

    • A reader will be made available with a number of articles.
    • Schleiermacher, F., On Religion: Speeches to its cultured despisers.

    Recommended literature

    • Kearney, R. (2010). Anatheism: Returning to God after God. Columbia U.P.
    • Caputo, J.D. (2006). The Weakness of God: A Theology of the Event. Indiana U.P.
    • Keller, C. (2018). Political Theology of the Earth: Our Planetary Emergency and the Struggle for a New Public. Columbia U.P.

  • Lecturers

  • Assessment

    You will conclude the seminar with a paper.

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