2012 Events of Interest


Tillich AAR Group Call for Papers

The American Academy of Religion Group “Tillich: Issues in Theology, Religion, and Culture” welcomes proposals for its sessions at the Annual Meeting of the AAR in Chicago, 17-20 November 2012.

We welcome proposals for individual papers and panels on the following issues in theology, religion, and culture that engage with Tillich or post-Tillichian thought:

  • Tillich in Chicago — From 1962 until his death in 1965 Tillich was Professor of Theology in the University of Chicago; notable events included the classes he co-taught with Mircea Eliade and the publication of Systematic Theology volume 3. Who were Tillich’s conversation partners in Chicago and how did they contribute to his legacy there? How was Tillich’s mature thought developed during his time in Chicago, in particular through his engagement with non-Christian religions?

  • Music and Ultimate Concern (cosponsored with the Music and Religion Group) — Music has been called the “unwritten theology of those who lack a formal creed” (G. Steiner), but how might music’s relation to ultimate concern be thought of outside of a religious setting? Can secular music be said to invoke the Holy? Tillich wrote surprisingly little about music; but what resources does his approach offer to thinking about music and transcendence?

  • Theologies of American Cultures — Tillich developed the most important framework for theology of culture in the twentieth century; forged in the cultural revolutions of post-World War I Europe. In what ways do Tillich’s analyses of the religious meaning of culture intersect with current interpretations of American cultures?

  • The Radical Tillich and Contemporary American Continental Thought — Tillich is sometimes seen as a precursor to radical theological thinking in the latter half of the twentieth century. From “Death of God” theologies to postmodern a/theology, Tillich’s is an ambiguous presence, often unacknowledged but clearly formative. As one of the original “American continental” thinkers, what is Tillich’s significance for contemporary American continental thought?

  • Religious Socialism: Then and Now — Religious socialism was central to Tillich’s political theology in response to a situation dominated by capitalist hegemony, a financial crisis, and the resurgence of forms of religious and political Romanticism, and yet surprisingly under-studied. How does Tillich’s account of religious socialism relate to other contemporaneous theories? What relevance does Tillich’s religious socialism have for our current situation? What are the prospects for a religious socialist political theology today?

Other Tillich-related proposals will be seriously considered. Unless otherwise requested, proposals not scheduled are automatically passed to the North American Paul Tillich Society for possible inclusion in their Annual Meeting. A winning student paper receives the Annual Tillich Prize.

The group fosters scholarship and scholarly exchanges that analyze, criticize, and interpret the thought or impact of Paul Tillich (1886–1965), and that use his thought — or use revisions of, or reactions against his thought — to deal with contemporary issues in theology, religion, ethics, or the political, social, psychotherapeutic, scientific, or artistic spheres of human culture. The group cooperates with the North American Paul Tillich Society (a Related Scholarly Organization of the AAR), which is linked with the German, French-speaking, and other Tillich societies. Papers at Group sessions are published in the Society’s quarterly Bulletin without prejudice to their also appearing elsewhere.

Proposals should be submitted online at the AAR website or sent by email (preferably as attachments) to the group’s co-chairs, Dr. Russell Re Manning, University of Cambridge (rrm24@cam.ac.uk) and Dr. Sharon Peebles Burch, Interfaith Counseling Center (spburch@att.net). Proposals should be of no more than 1000 words and be accompanied by a 150 word abstract. Please indicate if eligible for the student prize.

Proposals submitted online should be received by 13 March 2012. Proposals submitted by email will be received until the end of March 2012.


DPTG & Berlin Congress

Christian Danz of the Deutsche Paul-Tillich-Gesellschaft has provided the program of the Berlin congress “Die aufgeklärte Religion und ihre Probleme“ (18–21 March 2012).


Paul Tillich Lecture

Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 5:30 p.m.
The Memorial Church
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts

50th Anniversary Symposium
“Paul Tillich at Harvard: First and Future Generations”

    Speakers:
  • Harvey Cox
    Hollis Research Professor of Divinity, Harvard Divinity School
  • Ann Belford Ulanov
    Christiane Brooks Johnson Professor of Psychiatry and Religion, Union Theological Seminary, New York
  • Gerald Holton
    Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and History of Science, Emeritus, Harvard University

Paul Tillich is universally recognized as one of the preeminent theologians of our time. Tillich was appointed University Professor at Harvard in 1954 and taught for seven years, 1955–1962, a period in which he spoke and lectured to great acclaim in this country and abroad, including Japan. Retiring at the mandatory age of 75, he accepted appointment as the John Nuveen Professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, a newly created chair, and remained there until his death in 1965. This Symposium, commemorating Tillich’s seven- year tenure at Harvard and the 50th anniversary of his retirement in 1962, presents a discussion by “first generation” undergraduate and graduate students of Tillich's, Professors Ann Belford Ulanov (Radcliffe B.A., 1959) and Harvey Cox (Ph.D., 1963), and a “first generation” faculty colleague, Professor Gerald Holton (Ph.D., 1948). The participants will offer reflections on the significance of Tillich during his Harvard years and for present and future generations.

William R.Crout, S.T.B. 1958, A.M. 1969, is Founder and Curator of Harvard’s Paul Tillich Lectures, of which this is the 39th in the series. They are free and open to the public.


The 2012 Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting of the North American Paul Tillich Society will take place in Chicago, Illinois, November 16th and 17th, 2012. The meeting will be held in conjunction with the American Academy of Religion, November 17th to 19th.