Theological Traditions of Politics: Tracing History and Its Continuity

Dear Colleagues,

As a term, political theology explores the relationship between theology and politics or, rather, their mutual interaction and impact. It was Mikhail Bakunin who first used the concept in the modern era. However, it was Carl Schmitt, the well-known political theorist, who popularized it in 1922, in his attempt to justify the use of secularized theological concepts by the political power of his time. As a concept, political theology has a long history that goes back to the early period of Judaism and Christianity and their struggle to come to terms with the secular world and political (imperial or not) powers around them. In this sense, political theology covers a wide range of topics, beginning with the covenant and adventures of the early Jewish community, the apostle Paul’s theology and missionary work with Eusebius of Caesarea and Augustine, to name only a few, or the long relationship between Emperors and ecclesiastical order both in the East and the West. At the same time, the gradual rise of Islam as a religion and humma, where the relationship between the political and theological is often blurred, have also played an important role in the enrichment of political theology with new concepts, experiences, and views. The profound political impact of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and other religious and philosophical traditions has contributed to the elevation of political theology into an academic discipline during the 20th century, one which examines how the different religions across the world can be rendered more compatible with political modernity. Furthermore, many secular philosophers have written extensively on the topic of political theology during recent years, such as Jürgen Habermas, while nowadays, political theology has succeded in many respects as an important topic within legal theory.

This Special Issue aims to explore the past, present, and future of political theology in various religious traditions while critically discussing their compatibility with various facets of modernity, as well as examining the work of representative figures (theologians, philosophers, and secular theorists) in the field and their impact in setting up the agenda of political theology in each respected tradition.

Original research articles and reviews are welcome in this Special Issue, and research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Discussion of the concept, scope, methodologies, and currents of political theologies in various religious settings;
• Theological, philosophical, historical, and also comparative approaches;
• The dynamics of and changes in political theologies through the lens of history;
• A critical discussion of major authors and works;
• Understanding the “religious other” through political theology;
• Future research on political theology—new perspectives and methodologies.

We request that, before submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit their proposed title and a 200–300 word abstract, summarizing their intended contribution. Please send these to the Guest Editor ([email protected]) or the Editorial Office of Religions ([email protected]). All abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors to ensure they fit within the scope of this Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

Deadline for abstract submission: June 2024

Deadline for full manuscript submission: December 2024

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Nikolaos Asproulis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• political theology
• religious traditions
• state
• human rights
• nationalism
• fundamentalism

Title: The Politics of the Poor: Contributions from Liberation Theology to Political Theology

Abstract: Liberation Theology responded to a very particular political context in Latin America in the mid twentieth century: what is the role of Christians in revolutionary movements? Camilo Torres, Gustavo Gutierrez and José Miguez Bonino, amongst others, called for a political theology focussed on a 'new historical subject': the poor. Enrique Dussel further developed this political category from Liberation Theology through his theories of transmodernity. Transmodernity focuses on the creative value of the omitted majority and investigates how multiple omitted majorities critique and reply to European modernity. In the case of this essay, I present how Liberation Theology's category of the poor critiques and replies to political theology's European biases, be it the work of Schmitt, Bakunin, Habermas, amongst others.