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Political Theology Network

The Political Theology Network aims to be a hub for exploring the intersection of religious and political ideas and practices. The Network is interdisciplinary, publicly engaged, and committed to building links between theologians, practitioners, and humanities scholars. Riding a wave of scholarly interest in political theology that itself follows the increasing visibility of religion in public life, the Network seeks to create the infrastructure that will allow this interest to flourish in the long term, supporting discussions of political theology in the classroom, in scholarly research, and in the public arena. By bringing scholars thinking with the term “political theology” from throughout the humanities together with scholars of religious traditions, we aim to thicken the appreciation of religion’s complexity among the former while sharpening the critical edge of the latter.

Symposia

Short Meditations on José Esteban Muñoz’s The Sense of Brown

PTN welcomes four short meditations on the José Esteban Muñoz’s posthumous book.

Essays

2024 AAR/SBL Conference and Political Theology

This following post includes political theology related panels and events happening at the AAR/SBL Conference in San Diego California this year. Below you can find the times, locations, and much more, as it is presented in the online program book.

Political Theology and Related Units: AAR/SLB 2023 Conference

The following post contains information that may be of interest for those attending AAR/SBL in San Antonio this year.

CFP: Special Issue on Russia and Christian Nationalism

The journal Political Theology announces a call for papers for a special issue on “Russia and Christian Nationalism,” guest edited by Regina Elsner and Dmitry Uzlaner. Proposals are due December 15.

Remembering Vattimo

On September 19, 2023, the philosopher Gianni Vattimo died in Turin. What follows is collection of reflections on Vattimo’s legacy for political theology.

CFP: Special Issue on “Marx and Revolution”

The journal Political Theology announces a call for papers for a special issue on “Marx and Revolution,” guest edited by Sara-Maria Sorentino and Mikkel Flohr. Proposals are due December 15.

Catholic Re-Visions Call for Content

Catholic Re-Visions welcomes proposals for its next slate of content. How might we talk of “Catholicism,” being attentive to the past, while engaging with the messy present, to encounter a future that is not yet known?

Political Theology Adds New Editorial Team Members

The journal Political Theology announces new members of its editorial team.

Political Theology Network Conference: CFP Extended!

An updated date and call for the PTN Conference stream “Naming the Anthropos in Anthropocene: A Political Theology of (Hu)Man” has been released. See the call here.

Political Theology releases volume 24.1, a special issue on “The Political Imaginarium”

Read the Table of Contents of Political Theology’s most recent issue!

PTNCON23: Call for Seminar Streams

The Political Theology announces its 2023 conference and invites proposals for seminar streams.

CFP: Debates in Critical Theory and Political Theology

The Political Theology Network invites proposals for curating a discussion that all respond to a novel, contemporary question at the intersection of critical theory and political theology.

Political Theology at the 2022 AAR/SBL Conference

The following post contains information that may be of interest for those attending AAR/SBL in Denver this year.

Upcoming Political Theology Gathering in Denver!

The journal Political Theology and the Political Theology Network invite you to join in a Gathering in Denver on November 18 from 6:30-9pm.

The Racial Contract and Religion: Webinar Announcement

On Thursday, November 10 at 6 PM Eastern Time, the Political Theology Network will host a webinar conversation around Charles Mills’ The Racial Contract.

Why Does Political Theology Matter? William Cavanaugh and Vincent Lloyd in Conversation

How is the term “political theology” used today, and how does it add to our understandings of theology and politics?

Call For Papers – The Worldly Weil: Simone Weil and Political Theology

In keeping with the Center’s focus on scholarly and public engagement with issues at the intersection of politics and religion in the United States, we invite reflection on Weil that considers her thought in dialogue with religious life in the US. Please send your 500-word abstracts on Weil and political theology to Fannie Bialek and Ben Davis by November 15, 2022.

Reflections on The Racial Contract

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Charles Mills’ death. To commemorate his life and the 25th anniversary of his influential work, The Racial Contract, we invited scholars to respond to the question: How has The Racial Contract helped you think in new ways about the connections between religion, theology, and politics? Here are their reflections on Mills’ legacy in their own work and beyond.

Remembering A. B. Yehoshua

The Israeli writer A. B. Yehoshua died on June 14. We invited scholars of Jewish studies, literature, and politics to reflect on Yehoshua’s significance and legacy.

New PTN Leadership Team

The PTN Executive Committee welcomes Dr. Wonhee Anne Joh and Dr. Tommy Lynch into its ranks.

New Political Theology Journal Leadership

The journal Political Theology announces its new leadership structure, welcoming three new editors and a new assistant editor.

CFP: Political Theology Beyond

The Brink, the blog of the journal Political Theology, invites proposals for symposia that expand conversations about political theology in the direction of the comparative, the colonial, the postcolonial, or the decolonial.

PTN Event: The Catholic Worker and Political Theology

Catholic Re-Visions will host a zoom conversation between the authors of the recent Catholic Worker Symposium. Register here.

“Re-thinking Public Scholarship” A Conversation With K’eguro Macharia and Christine Mungai

The PTN Mentoring Initiative will host a webinar conversation on March 4, noon-1pm EST. RSVP required.

CFP: Literature and Political Theology

The Center for Political Theology at Villanova University invites proposals for symposia of 2-6 contributors to be featured on its new blog, Literature and Political Theology.

CFP – New Directions in African Political Theologies

Scholars and practitioners based in Africa are encouraged to submit a paper proposal on the topic “New Directions in African Political Theologies.”

Call for Nominations: PTN Executive Committee

The PTN Executive Committee is accepting nominations. Find out more about the role and how to nominate someone.

Political Theology Journal Welcomes Two to Editorial Board

The journal Political Theology is happy to announce the addition of Muna Tatari and Pantelis Kalaitzidis to its editorial board.

“How the University De-Radicalizes Students, Professors, and Social Movements”: A Conversation With Joy James and Rebecca Wilcox

The Political Theology Network Mentoring Initiative will hold this conversation on January 28, 2022 from 1-2:30 PM EST. Please RSVP for the link.

Application for Political Theology Network’s Dissertation Workshop, deadline extended!

PTN invites Ph.D. students who identify as women or gender nonbinary to apply to the PTN Dissertation Workshop with a special emphasis on “(How to do) political theology without men?” The deadline to apply is now February 1!

PTN 2021: The Year in Review

The PTN Executive Committee looks back on multiple PTN initiatives throughout 2021 and looks forward to many new opportunities in 2022.

Political Theology, Volume 22, Issue 8 Is Now Available

The journal Political Theology has published volume 22, issue 8.

AAR/SBL 2021 for PTN

We present some AAR/SBL Annual Meeting 2021 sessions that might be of interest to members of the Political Theology Network.

CFP: Catholic Re-Visions, a new blog

The Center for Political Theology is launching a new blog that interrogates the relationship between Catholic theology and political theology! Please consider submitting a symposium proposal.

CFP: Political Theology Network Conference, April 2022, deadline extended!

The Political Theology Network invites proposals for its third conference to be held in Tempe, Arizona on April 7th-9th, 2022, in collaboration with the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Arizona State University. The deadline for submission has been extended to 12/31.

PTN Dissertation Writing Group for the 2021-2022 Year

PTN Dissertation Writing Group seeks new members for the 2021-2022 academic year.

Remembering Tyler Roberts (1960-2021)

The Political Theology Network community remembers Tyler Roberts, who died on June 3, 2021 at the age of 61.

PTN welcomes new managing editor

PTN announces John Boopalan as its new Managing Editor.

Political Theology, Volume 22, Issue 6 Is Now Available

The journal Political Theology publishes Volume 22, Issue 6. Please enjoy a look into its contents with abstracts of each article.

REMINDER: CFP: Critical Theory for Political Theology, Keywords

The Political Theology Network seeks proposals for its next series of essays on Critical Theory for Political Theology 2.0 from the fields of feminist theory, queer theory, decolonial studies, Black studies, or Indigenous studies.

PTN Discussion Group: Hooked

The Political Theology Network is hosting a virtual discussion group on the themes of art, captivation, and attunement.

Editorial Team Changes at Political Theology

Milinda Banerjee, Karma Ben Johanan, Méadhbh McIvor, and Wonchul Shin take on new roles at the journal Political Theology

PTN Event: Political Protest, Theological Dissent, and the Orthodox Church

Please join the PTN event on “Religion and Freedom in the Post-Communist Orthodox World” co-sponsored with Fordham’s Orthodox Christian Studies Center

PTN Event: Rosenzweig for the Contemporary Moment

Please join the Political Theology Network for a special roundtable on Rosenzweig’s The Star of Redemption on June 1st at 4-5:30 PM EST

CFP – (How to Do) Political Theology without Men?

The journal Political Theology announces a call for proposals for its special issue on (how to do) political theology without men, as well as for an article development workshop for junior scholars and practitioners.

PTN Event: What Good is Theory? Religion, Critique, and Truth

Please join a joint event “What Good Is Theory? Religion, Critique, and Truth.” Now Recording is available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93amRjwBn_I

PTN Mentoring Festival

On Saturday April 24th, the Political Theology Network will be hosting a virtual Mentoring Festival for graduate students, dissertation writers, and other emerging scholars.

Political Theology, volume 22, Issue 2 Is Now Available

The journal Political Theology publishes Volume 22, Issue 2, including Roundtable Discussion on The Secular States of Race: Islamophobia, State Violence, Public Theologies

New Editorial Board Members for the Journal Political Theology

The journal Political Theology is delighted to announce six new members of our editorial board

PTN Discussion Group: Political Theologies of Loss

PTN Discussion Group will engage political theologies of loss every other Thursday starting Feb 11 at 5:30-7:00 p.m. ET

PTN Is Now Launching Membership!

PTN is now launching membership! Please consider becoming a member!

CFP – Reclaiming Christianity from Populism

The Protestant Political Thought Project at the University of Cambridge calls for proposals for its conference “Reclaiming Christianity from Populism”

PTN Discussion Group: Foucault and Political Theology

The Political Theology Network is hosting a virtual discussion group on the Journal Political Theology’s Special Issue on Foucault

PTN Winter Virtual Workshops

The PTN presents the 2021 Winter Workshop Series online via Zoom on Mondays from January 4 to March 1

Political Theology, volume 21, Issue 8 Is Now Available

The journal Political Theology publishes Volume 21, Issue 8

AAR/SBL2020 for PTN

We introduce AAR/SBL 2020 sessions that might be of interest to the Political Theology Network

CFP – PTN Winter Workshop Series

The PTN calls for proposals for the Winter Workshop Series on “The Politics of Death and Life”

Political Theology, Volume 21, Issue 7 Is Now Available

The journal Political Theology publishes Volume 21, Issue 7

CFA – PTN Dissertation Workshop

PTN is now accepting applications from PhD students for participating in a virtual Dissertation Workshop in January 2021

CFP – Affect, Temporality, and Political Theology

The journal Political Theology announces call for proposals for its Special Issue on Affect, Temporality, and Political theology

PTN Mentoring Initiative

The Political Theology Network receives now applications for the 2020-2021 PTN Mentoring Initiative

PTN Dissertation Writing Group for the 2020-2021 Year

PTN Dissertation Writing Group is seeking new members for the 2020-2021 academic year

Political Theology, Volume 21, Issue 6 Is Now Available

The journal Political Theology publishes its special issue on Jean Bodin and the Sovereignty of Exclusion

Political Theology, Volume 21, Issue 5 Is Now Available

This new issue includes a guest editorial by Elettra Stimilli and also features articles on populism, anger, and anarchism, as well as an expanded version of the round robin discussion of Islamophobia that first appeared as a symposium on this website.

PTN Summer Virtual Workshops

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Political Theology Network presents Summer 2020 Workshop Series online, via Zoom, weekly starting on July 13 until August 24

Political Theology’s Special Issue: Religious Diversity, Political Theory, and Theology

The journal Political Theology recently released a new issue, 21:4, guest edited by Paul Billingham and Jonathan Chaplin. It is part of an initiative to gather political theorists interested in religion and scholars of religion interested in political theory, and it is being published in coordination with a special issue of the journal Social Theory and Practice.

CFP – Critical Theory for Political Theology, 2.0

Political Theology Network announces call for proposals on contemporary critical theory for political theology (Due by August 15, 2020)

Anti-Blackness and Christian Ethics

The contributors to the edited volume Anti-Blackness and Christian Ethics have crafted brief reflections on the 2020 uprisings

CFP – Political Theology & Incarceration / Black Thought / Settler Colonialism

The journal Political Theology announces calls for papers for three special issues on (1) Incarceration, (2) Black Thought, and (3) Settler Colonialism

Discussion Group: Joshua Clover’s Riot. Strike. Riot.

The Political Theology Network is hosting a virtual discussion group on the themes of riot, strike, and uprising.

Call for Proposals and Nominations for the PTN Summer Virtual Workshop Series

The PTN announces call for proposals and nominations for the Summer 2020 Virtual Workshop Series

New Book Series: Transforming Political Theologies

Announcing a new book series “Transforming Political Theologies” published by Routledge.

Expanded Editorial Team for Political Theology

We welcome four new members to the journal editorial team.

Announcing the Emerging Scholars Cohort

Please join us in congratulating and welcoming this excellent cohort of scholars to the Political Theology Network.