Call for Contributors to Political Theology Today

Political Theology Today is looking for both occasional and regular contributors.   We are especially looking for contributors for Politics of Scripture as well as our weekly, or bi-weekly, “current events” features that analyze the news headlines of the day or the week in some unique perspective.  Instead of writing a long Facebook post on a topic that matters deeply to you, why don’t you seriously consider pitching the idea to us for a blog post.

The minimum word count for all posts or articles is 700 words.  The maximum is 2000, although we can go somewhat higher if the topic is complex and requires extended reflection.  Please note that PTT has a significant online readership, and whatever you write will get much better exposure than many other venues to write for academics and clergy.

If you would like to commit to contributing something on the average of once a month, or simply whenever you have time or inclination, please contact us and let us know your specific topic interests as well as any of the four categories listed below that particularly draw your attention. We are in the process of developing a new regular list of contributors with prominent bios.

Below are short descriptions of the sections.

Politics of Scripture

The Politics of Scripture is a weekly series, following the Revised Common Lectionary. Each post is typically around 1,000-1,500 words in length and reflects upon political themes within one of the lectionary passages, or brings a lectionary passage into dialogue with contemporary political issues. The most recent submissions can be seen here.

The series, which began in 2011, is designed to alert readers to the rich source that Scripture provides for political reflection and to encourage the development of a political theology that is conversant with and sensitive to scriptural material. Through its use of a popular lectionary, the Politics of Scripture series can also equip readers and hearers to encounter familiar texts anew, preparing them to discover themes that they had not previously observed.

Many of the contributors to the Politics of Scripture are clergy and posts will typically have an exhortational tone. As the series is based upon the lectionary, it can serve as a resource, model, and conversation partner for clergy who wish to draw out political themes from these texts in their preaching. While we expect posts to be grounded in theological scholarship, ideally they should be accessible to a broader educated lay audience.

Current Events

Our Current Events feature is quite popular with our general readership and consists mainly of “op-ed” style commentary on important, or trending, news events of the day.  For events that have a relatively short news cycle, we try not to offer any analysis any more than two weeks after the fact.  For subject matter that is consistently in the news, we welcome the submission of pieces at any time.

 Commentary

PTT welcomes shorter, more academic and substantive articles on issues of political theology in general.  Contributions on major authors (e.g., Agamben, Foucault, Zizek, Schmitt, Badiou) or topics ranging inter alia from critical race theory to globalization to sovereignty to religious are invited.

PTT In History

Studies of political theology that involve serious cultural and historical analysis are encouraged as well.  Contributions in this category are usually published on weekends.