Contemporary Christian Thought

Dr. Madhuri Yadlapati Department of Philosophy & Religious Studies

Are you curious about how religion has been affected by the cultural movements of feminism, queer theory, race studies, and atheism? While many assume these contemporary movements are antithetical to Christianity, there has also been a vibrant paradigm shift over the past fifty years and many Christian thinkers have taken the insights drawn from these social movements to be consistent with and central to Christian liberation as portrayed by Jesus in the first century. The result is an interesting set of conversations. 

We will enter into these conversations by reading deeply from liberation theology, feminism, queer theology, non-theism, and interreligious studies. Can Christianity free itself from its cultural history of patriarchy and racism? What ideological resources have people found in Christian scripture and tradition to support anti-racist activism or marriage equality? How have feminists thought differently about Christian views of sin and grace to develop a constructive theological vision of liberation? How do postmodern insights and atheism impact how Christians speak of God? Is this still Christianity? To what degree do these constructive proposals represent a subversion of Christianity, or a renewal of Christian liberation?