Conclusion: Theology for Humans

Abstract

Abstract In light of the preceding engagement with embodied cognition, this chapter proposes a corporeal theology. Classical definitions of theology have often construed it as a textual or abstract intellectual exercise, which takes place at arm’s length from the body. By contrast, a corporeal theology emphasises an embodied methodology in which bodily participation in religious practices is part and parcel of theologising. Contextual theologies have pioneered aspects of corporeal theology, insofar as they explicitly theologise from and about particular bodily experiences. I consider three examples of contextual theologies which attend to embodiment (feminist theology; black/womanist theologies; and theologies of disability). These engagements reveal a fundamental compatibility with an embodied theological methodology, but also develop it by raising critical questions about human bodily diversity and the symbolic meanings assigned to bodies. In light of bodily diversity, I return to theme of accommodation, asking whose bodies are accommodated by theological concepts, the incarnation, and ecclesial practices.