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Faith in Action: Examining the Power and Purpose of a...
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Faith in Action: Examining the Power and Purpose of a Public Theology in Contemporary Society

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2024) | Viewed by 1519

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Clive Pearson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Theology, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW 2795, Australia
Interests: public theology; climate change and the anthropocene; migration; Christian–Muslim relations

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The concept of public theology presumes the capacity of a faith to address matters pertaining to the common good in the public domain. It seeks to draw upon images, symbols, and beliefs of a religious tradition (such as Christian, Jewish, or Islamic) and do so in a manner that is intrinstic to an interdisciplinary praxis. Furthermore, it seeks to balance its public-facing concerns with a desire for bilinguality—that is, the capacity to respond back into the life of its own internal religious community. Moreover, it seeks to discern ‘the signs of the times’ and engage with the issues that arise, particularly those affecting the practice of civil discourse and public well-being.

The emergence of a world Christianity (or majority world Christianity) has highlighed the plurality of contexts from which theology in general is now derived. As such, the discipline of a public theology must necessarily address particular contexts (variously understood as they are) as it seeks to address a range of global themes. For instance, what the response ought to be from a public theology in a small low-lying island in the Pacific to an issue such as climate change or the Anthropocene is not the same as what a response from one of the world’s major cities ought to be. As another example, the theatre of conflict between Israel and Hamas is exceedingly different from that between Ukraine and Russia, thus significantly altering the context of response. Concerns such as the future of democracy, for instance, require a largely different repsonse when faced with an issue such as the rise of fake news in the United States or an inherently different situation, such as military oppression in Myanmar. To futher illustrate, being a Muslim refugee in Europe is different from being a climate-displaced person in Tuvalu, and contexts such as these require a largely different response.

As a result of this, the praxis of a public theology in the current global setting anticipates differently structured public domains, whether or not a theological voice is readily heard or is required to secure that right. This field is marked by an increasing level of diversity far removed from its origins in the United States and subsequent spread into Europe, South Africa, Australia, and Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Therefore, this Special Issue aims to explore how the practice of a public theology is performed in particular contexts that are both geographical in expression (hence local) and representative of global public issues. As a result, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following topics:

  • Climate change/the Anthropocene;
  • War/peace;
  • Democracy/fake claims.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 150–200 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor, Dr. Pearson (cpearson@csu.edu.au), and CC the Assistant Editor, Ms. Violet Li (violet.li@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editor for the purposes of ensuring their proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Clive Pearson
Guest Editor

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.

Keywords

  • public theology
  • common good
  • signs of the time
  • justice
  • truth
  • compassion
  • freedom
  • local
  • global

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 219 KiB  
Article
Why ‘Doing Good in the Community’ Is Both a Good and a Bad Idea: The Congregation as the Hermeneutic of the Gospel and Public Trust
by T. Michael J. Earl
Religions 2025, 16(5), 548; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16050548 - 25 Apr 2025
Abstract
The theme of the current Special Issue, ‘Faith in Action: Examining the Power and Purpose of a Public Theology in Contemporary Society’, leaves a lot of scope for definition. Here, the theme is addressed via the lens of the public life and practice [...] Read more.
The theme of the current Special Issue, ‘Faith in Action: Examining the Power and Purpose of a Public Theology in Contemporary Society’, leaves a lot of scope for definition. Here, the theme is addressed via the lens of the public life and practice of a Christian congregation and its generative qualities pertaining to public trust. Such an approach contrasts with more formal public theologies which tend to favour intellectual or academic discourse. It will be argued that the life of a local faith community and its embodied public interface provides a better starting point as it can be seen as the most directly presupposed concrete and public context of the phrase ‘faith in action’. As an analytical conduit, the congregation is a neglected category for rendering a public theology, even as it lies at the heart of the Christian faith’s constitutive practice. Here, a particular form of public exchange drawn from local experience will be set against the background of the recent trend in ecclesiology to turn away from abstracted notions of the church towards more practice-orientated understandings. The dynamics of developing public trust will be considered through reflection on an oft repeated response offered from non-practicing observers of my local church’s work: ‘You do so much good in the community’. Although a seemingly simple (and positive) sentiment, such a comment in fact bears complex layers of meaning and subtextual inflections to which a minister and congregation might give heed in search of public trust. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Faith in Action: Examining the Power and Purpose of a Public Theology in Contemporary Society)
18 pages, 284 KiB  
Article
Towards a Public Theology of Menopause
by Emma L. Pavey
Religions 2025, 16(4), 525; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16040525 - 17 Apr 2025
Viewed by 360
Abstract
In this article, I explore the power and purpose of a public theology of menopause. I approach this both by focusing on menopause as a pivotal transition in the lives of women (and others who menstruate), and recognising how profoundly menopause intersects with [...] Read more.
In this article, I explore the power and purpose of a public theology of menopause. I approach this both by focusing on menopause as a pivotal transition in the lives of women (and others who menstruate), and recognising how profoundly menopause intersects with all our lives, the life of the planet, and the relationships between us all. This is, therefore, a public theology of menopause in the broad sense of a practiced faith that looks both inward and outward, to family, community, friend and stranger, online and offline, and that takes account of forces such as globalisation and capitalism and what this implies for our position and action. As an approach to a public theology of menopause, I propose inter-theological and interdisciplinary connections with peri/menopause and survey a range of areas foundational to the lived experience such as nature and medicine; control and power; disorientation and rage; and the centrality of culture, community and ritual. I draw on global sources and an awareness of our embeddedness in a globalised, capitalist world in ecological crisis to support a public-facing theology of menopause characterised by a concern for dignity, connection and justice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Faith in Action: Examining the Power and Purpose of a Public Theology in Contemporary Society)
14 pages, 220 KiB  
Article
The Rupturing of Samoa’s Foundations: On the Importance of a Public Theology
by Sam Amosa
Religions 2025, 16(4), 520; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16040520 - 16 Apr 2025
Viewed by 142
Abstract
The Samoan general election of 2021 provoked an unprecedented constitutional crisis. It represented yet one more symptom in a shaking of the foundations—not just in politics but within the very nature of Samoan society. The nation’s past stability had resided in the cultural [...] Read more.
The Samoan general election of 2021 provoked an unprecedented constitutional crisis. It represented yet one more symptom in a shaking of the foundations—not just in politics but within the very nature of Samoan society. The nation’s past stability had resided in the cultural virtue of respect, which permeated its key pillars—the church, law and fa’a Samoa (the customary Samoan way of life). There had been several tremors prior to the election. These had involved court cases involving the church where the Congregational Christian Church Samoa was shown to be in the wrong. These tremors and the more substantial shaking brought about by the constitutional crisis pose several awkward questions as regards the way in which the Christian faith and the Samoan cultural way of life–fa’a Samoa—are commonly regarded as more than complimentary. They also call into question the church’s default practice of silence in the face of public issues. Is it now time to nurture and encourage the public role of the faifeau (minister) for the sake of the common good in a time of significant change? In the absence of a prophetic theology, the tremors and shaking of the foundations signify the necessity of taking some further steps in the development of a local public theology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Faith in Action: Examining the Power and Purpose of a Public Theology in Contemporary Society)
17 pages, 303 KiB  
Article
The Pact of the Catacombs as a Pathway for a Poor-Servant Church
by Valentine Ugochukwu Iheanacho
Religions 2025, 16(2), 208; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16020208 - 8 Feb 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 381
Abstract
On 16 November 1965, three weeks before the end of the Second Vatican Council, about forty conciliar bishops gathered to celebrate the Holy Eucharist in the Catacombs of St. Domitilla. The Mass was presided over by Msgr. Charles-Marie Himmer (1902–1994). At the end [...] Read more.
On 16 November 1965, three weeks before the end of the Second Vatican Council, about forty conciliar bishops gathered to celebrate the Holy Eucharist in the Catacombs of St. Domitilla. The Mass was presided over by Msgr. Charles-Marie Himmer (1902–1994). At the end of the Mass, the assembled bishops walked up to the altar and appended their signatures to what is now known as “The Pact of the Catacombs.” This document later went into oblivion and suffered obscurity for half a century. Nevertheless, its significance was never lost on some of the bishops who pledged themselves, among other things, to work for the emergence of a “poor and servant Church” with a commitment to justice and charity. The bishops seemed to have followed the example of Pope Paul VI, who on 12 September 1965, in the same Catacombs of St. Domitilla, had spoken about the lessons of simplicity, poverty, charity, and justice that are historically engraved in the Church’s memory of the catacombs. This research examines “The Pact of the Catacombs”, its recent coming to light, and its significance as a pathway for a possible poor-servant church. As a qualitative research, its approach is historical, and its analysis of primary and secondary sources will be both narrative and descriptive in connecting it to other important documents of the same milieu. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Faith in Action: Examining the Power and Purpose of a Public Theology in Contemporary Society)
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