Postmodern theology, also known as the continental philosophy of religion, is a philosophical and theological movement that interprets

Christian theology Christian theology is the theology – the systematic study of the divine and religion – of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. It concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Ch ...

in light of

postmodernism Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...

and various forms of post- Heideggerian thought, including

post-structuralism Post-structuralism is a philosophical movement that questions the objectivity or stability of the various interpretive structures that are posited by structuralism and considers them to be constituted by broader systems of Power (social and poli ...

phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (Peirce), a branch of philosophy according to Charles Sanders Peirce (1839� ...

, and

deconstruction In philosophy, deconstruction is a loosely-defined set of approaches to understand the relationship between text and meaning. The concept of deconstruction was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who described it as a turn away from ...

History

Postmodern theology emerged in the 1980s and 1990s when a handful of philosophers who took philosopher

Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art ...

as a common point of departure began publishing influential books engaging with

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. Some works of the era include

Jean-Luc Marion Jean-Luc Marion (; born 3 July 1946) is a French philosopher and Catholic theologian. A former student of Jacques Derrida, his work is informed by patristic and mystical theology, phenomenology, and modern philosophy.Horner 2005. Much of h ...

's 1982 book ''God Without Being'', Mark C. Taylor's 1984 book ''Erring'', Charles Winquist's 1994 book ''Desiring Theology'', John D. Caputo's 1997 book ''The Prayers and Tears of Jacques Derrida'', and Carl Raschke's 2000 book ''The End of Theology''. There are at least two branches of postmodern theology, each of which has evolved around the ideas of particular post- Heideggerian

continental philosophers Continental philosophy is a group of philosophies prominent in 20th-century continental Europe that derive from a broadly Kantian tradition.Continental philosophers usually identify such conditions with the transcendental subject or self: , "It ...

. Those branches are radical orthodoxy and weak theology.

Radical orthodoxy

Radical orthodoxy is a branch of postmodern theology that has been influenced by the

Paul Ricœur Jean Paul Gustave Ricœur (; ; 27 February 1913 – 20 May 2005) was a French philosopher best known for combining phenomenological description with hermeneutics. As such, his thought is within the same tradition as other major hermeneut ...

, and

Michel Henry Michel Henry (; ; 10 January 1922 – 3 July 2002) was a French philosopher, phenomenologist and novelist. He wrote four novels and numerous philosophical works. He also lectured at universities in France, Belgium, the United States, and Jap ...

, among others. Although radical orthodoxy is informally organized, its proponents often agree on a handful of propositions. First, there is no sharp distinction between reason on the one hand and faith or revelation on the other. In addition, the world is best understood through interactions with God, even though a full understanding of God is never possible. Those interactions include culture, language, history, technology, and theology. Further, God directs people toward truth, which is never fully available to them. In fact, a full appreciation of the physical world is only possible through a belief in transcendence. Finally, salvation is found through interactions with God and others. Prominent advocates of radical orthodoxy include

John Milbank Alasdair John Milbank (born 23 October 1952) is an English Anglo-Catholic theologian and is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Nottingham, where he is President of the Centre of Theolo ...

, Catherine Pickstock, and Graham Ward.

Weak theology

Weak theology is a branch of postmodern theology that has been influenced by the deconstructive thought of

Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida;Peeters (2013), pp. 12–13. See also 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was a French Algerian philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in a number of his texts, ...

, including Derrida's description of a moral experience he calls "the weak force." Weak theology rejects the idea that God is an overwhelming physical or

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...

force. Instead, God is an unconditional claim without any force whatsoever. As a claim without force, the God of weak theology does not intervene in nature. As a result, weak theology emphasizes the responsibility of humans to act in this world here and now. John D. Caputo is a prominent advocate of the movement.

Disputes

In "Pilgrim's Digress: Christian Thinking on and about the Post/Modern Way", theologian Kevin J. Vanhoozer articulates the risk of correlating theology with postmodernism (or any other philosophy or discipline) as undermining the challenging doctrines of the Bible, in effect "exchanging the scandal of the cross for the pottage of intellectual respectability." In this vein, theologian Douglas Groothuis argues that for Christian theology to resist postmodernism, it must adhere to Scripture as propositional truth. In contrast to postmodernism's skepticism towards meta-narratives and its relativistic approach to truth, Scripture should be viewed as objective, universal, and factually accurate. Theologian Chul Min Jun suggests that modernism's conformist tendencies and postmodernism's pluralist inclinations are both rooted in a departure from the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

. Using pluralism to overcome conformism and vice versa cannot be transcended by theorizing. Rather than relying solely on language and definitions or on abandoning foundational truths altogether, it is necessary to directly follow the principles of the Triune God.

Leading thinkers

* John D. Caputo *

Richard Kearney Richard Kearney (; born 1954) is an Irish philosopher and public intellectual specializing in contemporary continental philosophy. He is the Charles Seelig Professor in Philosophy at Boston College and has taught at University College Dublin, t ...

* Mario Kopić *

* Françoise Meltzer *

* James Olthuis * Catherine Pickstock * Carl Raschke * Peter Rollins * Mary-Jane Rubenstein * James K.A. Smith * Mark C. Taylor *

Gabriel Vahanian Gabriel Vahanian (in Armenian Գաբրիէլ Վահանեան; 24 January 1927 – 30 August 2012) was a French Protestant Christian theologian who was most remembered for his pioneering work in the theology of the "death of God" movement within ...

Gianni Vattimo Gianteresio Vattimo (; 4 January 1936 – 19 September 2023) was an Italian philosopher and politician. Biography Gianteresio Vattimo was born in Turin, Piedmont. He studied philosophy under the existentialist Luigi Pareyson at the Universit ...

* Charles Winquist * Catherine Keller * Mikhail Epstein

History

Radical orthodoxy

Weak theology

Disputes

Leading thinkers

See also

Notes

Further reading