Systematic Theology and Social Ethics: On the Unity of Theory and Praxis

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to the Special Issue entitled Systematic Theology and Social Ethics. On the Unity of Theory and Practice. This Special Issue aims to elucidate the relationship between theology, as a type of rational thinking on God and Creation inspired by faith, and the practical and everyday life among a given community that is human or, in a broader sense, cosmic. Systematic theology has received significant contributions in the last century thanks to Catholic theologians like Hans Urs von Balthasar and Karl Rahner, Orthodox thinkers like Sergei Bulgakov and leading Protestant voices like Karl Barth. However different these reflections might be, they coincide in affirming that systematic theology must not be reduced to an abstract speculation and that its application cannot be restricted to individuals and the private sphere. As John Milbank powerfully argued, theology, when faithful to its mission to affirm that the natural and the supernatural realms, however distinct, are not separated, illuminates all other realms of knowledge and their relation to the centre of cultural development: the Christian event. Theology requires a systematic approach to explain the central mystery of human and divine encounter, since it relies on Divine Revelation. In other words, systematic theology adopts an intermediate role (metaxu) between the divine and creation. It discloses all aspects that conform human reality and primordially the connection between theory and praxis. By extension, we can claim that systematic theology does not only constitute the source of moral principles of the individual actors but it rather inspires moral actions affecting the whole social and communitarian context of the person transformed by faith. When systematic theology focuses on this transformation, it resists the temptation of becoming overly systematic, i.e., making the theological paradoxes and tensions proper to the Christian faith, which are also reflected in the life of Christians, by attempting to explain them (Wegerklären).

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• The overcoming of the modern theory–praxis split through systematic theology.
• Intersection between social ethics and systematic theology.
• The social and community ethics that emerge from the thought of the main systematic theologians.
• The consequences of systematic theology for the relationship between man and the rest of creation (environmentalism).
• The consequences of systematic theology for politics and economics.

Prof. Dr. Miguel Escobar Torres
Prof. Dr. Matyas Szalay
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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.

• systematic theology
• community
• society
• ethics
• practice
• theory