Christian Anthropology Research Articles

Teologia Intercultural como Teologia Intermediária

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the term intercultural theology has been gaining more and more traction. At the same time, the terms world Christianity and anthropology of Christianity have also become established. This article inquires into the profile of intercultural theology against the other two terms and defines the subject as in-between theology with Regard to such factors as audience, media, power, methodology, plurality, and connectivity. Looking forward, the author identifies current challenges and proposes that intercultural theology should be understood as a both descriptive and normative discipline, that the driving force behind it is the universal-missionary truth claim of the New Testament message of salvation, and that—as a subject with a primarily systematic orientation—it is committed to a comprehensive understanding of reality and theology.

La dignidad del hombre “artista”: Una respuesta al antropocentrismo desmesurado de la tecnociencia y la destrucción del planeta

The text addresses the contemporary humanity and ecological crisis, proposing a reflection from the theology of Saint Bonaventure and the Encyclical Laudato Si of Pope Francis. It focuses on the “dignity of the artistic man” as an image of God, and how this dignity can counteract the exacerbated anthropocentrism that has emerged with technoscience. According to Saint Bonaventure, the human being, as a bridge between God and creation, has the ability to contemplate the beauty and harmony of the world and, at the same time, to transform it without destroying it. Francis reinforces this idea by calling for an “ecological conversion” that recognizes the interconnectedness of all creation and the need for responsible and loving stewardship of the planet. The reflection highlights the importance of an adequate Christian anthropology that guides human beings towards the preservation and respect of nature.

Parents of Children with Disabilities: Strengths and Frailty of Human Faith Journeys

Although studies have been conducted regarding the faith journeys of people with disabilities, little is known of those nurturing and accompanying them, their parents. The faith journeys of parents of children with disabilities are a critical yet underattended source of theological insight. In this qualitative research study, we interview and study the perspective of seven married parents of children with disabilities who actively participate in ministry at their local faith communities or a national arena. While these criteria limit the number of parents caring for children with disability, they gave us greater insight into the challenges and graces received throughout their faith journeys, the role of their immediate family, their faith communities, and the universal Church. Five emerging themes were identified reflecting the rich yet complex strengths and frailty of their faith journeys. This study intends to amplify the stories of parents of children with disabilities becoming key conversation partners. Their hope-in-tension narratives inform and challenge the understanding of Christian anthropology, the centrality of faith, and the vocation of marriage, and in turn lead to concrete pastoral recommendations in three critical dimensions: ecclesiological, catechetical, and ministerial.

“We just want to sing”: how a small London evangelical church responded to Covid-19

ABSTRACT This article documents the myriad ways in which a north London evangelical church responded to Covid-19 when it was decanted from its church building into cyberspace. By focusing on three aspects of Hovland’s framework of place-making—materiality, personhood, and transcendence (Hovland 2016), I analyse how church members viewed their experience of attending an online church. Apart from contributing to the literature on non-charismatic, non-Pentecostal evangelicalism, it suggests that the importance of singing together, as well as the silence and bodily stillness that sometimes ensue, in the everyday life of a church deserves further attention in a comparative anthropology of Christianity.

Fat bodies, diet culture, and human flourishing: How did we get it so wrong?

AbstractContemporary diet culture is detrimental to many Western men and women, though women are disproportionately impacted. This results in poor body image, low self‐esteem, and unhealthy lifestyles. Christian discourse is not immune to the influence of diet culture, with many popular Christian pastors and authors adopting this paradigm and seeking to align it with a Christian worldview. When an understanding of a human being as an anthropological duality is brought to bear on the issue of diet culture, a more consistently Christian anthropology can resource a healthier view of the embodied self and provide resources for a robust Christian response to diet culture.

Character education in universities

Is character education a legitimate goal of higher education? Character education should aim to form people so they can live well in a world worth living in. All universities, whether faith-inspired or not, have an obligation to prepare students for life—a life worth living, a life with purpose. The Christian faith conviction that we as humans have a common telos, that there is an ultimate common good, or highest good, that is God, is central to any Catholic concept of character and flourishing in the university. The practice of the virtues, through good character, is the road to this spiritual end. Catholic Universities traditionally have many features that make them well-placed to cultivate the virtues of character in their students, particularly through the lens of a Christian anthropology. The work of the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues on universities is highlighted together with recent scholarly discussion of the place of character virtues in secular and Christian universities.

Talking Fieldwork with Rebekka King

In The Interview, we chat with movers and shakers whose contributions help us think about the field. Bulletin Editor, Richard Newton, and Editorial Assistant, Stephen Heaton sat down with Rebekka King. King is Professor of Religious Studies at Middle Tennessee State University and faculty resident at MTSU’s Honors College. We learned about Rebekka’s work in the anthropology of Christianity, her recent book, The New Heretics: Skepticism, Secularism, and Progressive Christianity (NYU Press, 2023), and her tenure as president of the North American Association for the Study of Religion (2021–2023).

Anthropological Terms in Chinese Biblical Translations: The Interplay between Catholic and Protestant Versions in Response to Chinese Traditional Cultures

Notwithstanding the considerable attention that Chinese Bible translations have attracted, some important theological issues have been ignored for a long time, one of which is anthropology. The present article focuses on the Chinese rendering of terms in this category. From the attempts in the first three Catholic versions, the Western theory of soul introduced by Matteo Ricci began to influence the connotation of ling 靈 in Chinese biblical texts, though anima and spiritus had not been distinguished or the translations were still obscure in these renditions. Robert Morrison’s version, though heavily dependent on Jean Basset’s translation, was also indebted to Emmanuel Diaz and Louis A. de Poirot in its dichotomous anthropology, developing a ling–rou 靈–肉 (lit. spirit–flesh) dichotomous discourse with his conceptualization of ling 靈. Initiated by the “second generation” of Protestant Bible translators, the renderings of pneuma/ruach and sarx/basar took the indigenized approach that culminated in the Delegates’ Version of the Bible. With the assistance of some Chinese scholars in completing this version, Medhurst launched a dialogue between Christian anthropology and Chinese traditional outlooks of human beings by emphasizing the concepts of shen 身 and xin 心, which had long-lasting popularity in later versions of the Chinese Bible.

Truth-Telling and Hope

Why else would one speak the truth if not out of and for hope? This hope is, indeed, a passion ‘for the possible’ and in Christian anthropology, this possible has something to do with eschatological flourishing that has already been inaugurated and which is never simply a private affair but has public effects and implications. We are created for communion with God – this is our hope; but there can be no communion with God – either individually or politically – when there is no truth-telling.

Polish Catholic environmentalism as the counterculture movement

ABSTRACT The increasing participation of faith leaders in environmental debates has led to the renewed interest in the ‘greening of religions’. This paper examines the frames employed by religious actors to encourage environmental action, with a focus on the eco-movement within the Roman Catholic Church in Poland. Its narratives are connected to the goals of promoting ‘ecological conversion’ and encouraging change at the community level. We demonstrate how pro-environmental religious actors navigate between anti-ecological voices within the Church and left-wing activism, applying the following frames: 1) presenting ecological lifestyle as a religious obligation, 2) promoting the idea of ‘integral ecology,’ rooted in a Christian anthropology, 3) reinterpreting Catholicism by showing green practices as a legitimized element of the Church’s tradition. We argue that these activities constitute a form of a counterculture that develops a values-based approach to environmentalism, aiming to transform the culture of the Catholic church and society.

Christian Anthropology Beyond Spirituality: On Nikolaos Loudovikos' Analogical Identities and its ‘Greek‐Western’ SynthesisAnalogical Identities: The Creation of the Christian Self – Beyond Spirituality and Mysticism in the Patristic Era, NikolaosLoudovikos, Brepols, 2020 (ISBN 978‐2‐503‐57815‐6), xv + 386 pp., pb £79.35

AbstractThis review article examines and summarizes the key ideas and contributions of Nikolaos Loudovikos' book Analogical Identities: The Creation of the Christian Self – Beyond Spirituality and Mysticism in the Patristic Era. The book offers a reimagining of Christian anthropology and the understanding of the self by critiquing what the author sees as lingering Neoplatonic influences and dualistic notions of ‘spirituality’ or ‘mysticism’. Loudovikos traces the development of problematic conceptions of the will, introspection and power in influential thinkers like Augustine, Origen and Descartes. He then provides an alternative trajectory drawing on Greek patristic authors like Maximus the Confessor, Symeon the New Theologian and Gregory Palamas. Loudovikos argues that their thinking provides resources for overcoming problematic past legacies by articulating a view of the self, grounded not in an immaterial soul, but in dialogical, embodied fulfilment through grace and participation in Christ. Central is Maximus' theology of the will, which reframes it not as something to be transcended but as expressing the universal human desire for God. Loudovikos synthesizes these currents in proposing the concept of ‘analogical identity’ to describe the transformed Christian self. The book represents a ground‐breaking contribution that creatively retrieves the diverse patristic tradition(s) to overcome lingering problems in theological anthropology and provides a holistic model of human personhood.

ЛЕВЫЙ ПОВОРОТ В КОНСЕРВАТИВНОЙ МЫСЛИ Г.П. ФЕДОТОВА

The article is about an issue of combining two political vectors, conservative (right) and revolutionary (left) in the works of G.P. Fedotov. The research focus of the paper is on the philosophical anthropology of the Russian thinker. The author suggests considering the figure of the subject, which is the point from which the divergent political lines originate. G.P. Fedotov describes person in the interpretation of Christian anthropology, where the essential features are connection with the divine and rootedness in the historical. In such a system, the conservative position is associated with the protection of the individual from any encroachments by the “other”, whether it is the arbitrariness of the revolutionary crowd or the rigid organization of the pro-fascist states of Europe in the first half of the 20th century. The position of the revolutionary vector, traditionally associated with the left movement, is of a liberating nature, the source of which G.P. Fedotov also founds in the Christian anthropology. The category of alienation plays an important role in this case, both in the Hegelian interpretation (objectification of the world) and in the Marxist interpretation. Overcoming alienation by a historical subject in various variations is the conceptual point at which both the right and left political vectors converge.

A Philosophical Theologian’s Review Essay on Judith Butler’s Who’s Afraid of Gender?

Judith Butler’s work relates directly to science and religion concerns. Scientific questions regarding the nature of male and female sex, and the relation of biological sex to Butler’s conception of gender are important concerns in her work. Butler also has an abiding disdain for traditional Christian anthropology with its binary heteronormative sexual ethics. Conservative Christian religion is thus seen by Butler as a moral and political enemy of progressive humanity and reason. For these two reasons, as well as the fact that Butler has had an enormous impact on contemporary culture and law through her gender studies work, it is important that Christians who are interested in science and in the cultural and political currents of our times, understand her work. People who do not usually read postmodern gender theory will find the terrain demanding. Indeed, Butler’s writing is difficult even for professional philosophers to decipher. However, her 2024 book—Who’s Afraid of Gender—is remarkably accessible. Considering the importance to science, religion, and contemporary culture that these matters are, and considering that this is an unusually accessible text by Butler, I here offer a philosophically engaged and theologically critical review essay of Butler’s latest book.

Power Circuits: Asymmetries of Global Christianity

Abstract This article examines the idea of global Christianity in scholarship and the postcolonial and present imperial conditions that underlie it. Through an analysis of the fields of World Christianity and the anthropology of Christianity, it considers how Western Christian histories and power dynamics have impacted Christian traditions of the Global South and seriously considers the pervasive logics of geopolitical power that transform local contexts–not only altering how such communities and traditions are written about, but also impacting the traditions, practices, and people themselves. Thinking with Coptic Orthodox Christians between Egypt and the United States and Born-Again Christians in Uganda, this article examines how global power inequalities in the circuits of ideas, forms of life, and theopolitics are integral to thinking about the idea of global Christianity and its variations in scholarship.

Human Rights: is the concept truly coherent with the Christian moral teaching?

The text explores the evolution of anthropological perspectives within Christianity, specifically focusing on the concept of rights. It traces the historical shift from a pre-modern emphasis on the social nature of humans to the emergence of individualistic anthropology in the 17th century. The tension between freedom and justice becomes a central theme, with human rights seen as a means of protecting individual autonomy from social coercion. The text explores the concept of personhood in Christianity, emphasising its central role in understanding the Trinitarian identity of God and its significance in Christology. It examines the classical definition of a person as an individual substance of reasonable nature, highlighting its limitations when applied to social aspects of human life. The author expresses scepticism about reconciling the concept of human rights with Christian anthropology, asserting that the rights-focused ethics is rooted in a non-Christian philosophical framework. The conclusion acknowledges the contemporary dominance of the rights-focused ethics but warns against the temptation to create a new "Christianity" compatible with this framework, urging a recognition of the anti-Christian nature of the ethical foundations of the modern Western society.

The Diaconal Work of Sisters Kristína and Mária Royová—An Example of the Link between Christian Anthropology and Social Work

Considering the intermingling of problems in today’s multi-crisis environment, this text explores the possibilities of intertwining social work and pastoral care. In the search for effective approaches, we find dynamic patterns in the activities of the Royová (Roy) sisters. Their diaconal work is an important source for social work history illustrating how social work took the form of diaconal (charity) work with a rich pastoral reach at the time. Their activities represent a natural link between Christian anthropology and social work. This study mainly investigates the Christian (spiritual) basis of the social and charitable activities of the Royová sisters, the beginnings of the institutionalisation of social and charitable work in Slovakia and Serbia through the organisations founded by the Royová sisters, the Christian-social interpersonal contribution of the Roy sisters to the development of Slovak and European social work personified by their cooperation with several personalities of social and charitable work at the international, national, and local levels, and the contribution of the Roy sisters in the creation of women’s, volunteer, and international roots of social and charitable work in Slovakia and Europe. In their responses to the needs of their environment, we find significant stimuli for pastoral theology, which is supposed to respond to the needs of the multi-crisis environment of today.

Transhumanističko doba – novi posthuman, nove mogućnosti, novi moral

The paper about the transhumanistic era evaluates the new postulates of the philosophical concept of transhumanism and the new possibilities it offers by creating a new posthuman being with a newly constructed moral system. Through three thematic units, the work reflects on transhumanistic ideas and the new paradigm of man, which is realized by means of technological and scientific achievements.The first thematic unit discusses the philosophical idea of transhumanism and the philosophical shift made by transhumanist anthropology, especially those proclaimed in transhumanist manifestos. The second part provides an understanding of the means used by technological transhumanism starting by cyborgization and mind uploading. The third part looks at the new moral system brought by the new paradigm of posthuman ethics, which opposes the moral values of Christian anthropology.

Spiritual Being in the Theology of Wincenty Granat

Treatises on dogmatic theology draw attention to a whole spectrum of theological topics, among which the issue of angels also finds its place. Scholastic theology dealt with this issue within the framework of the treatise on God the Creator; however, it is not exceptional that it is also treated in a separate part. In this paper, we pay attention to spiritual creatures in the context of the eminent Polish theologian Wincent Granat who emphasized respect for the Christian tradition and pointed to the vital values of Christian dogmas. In his pre-Conciliar work Catholic Dogmatics, he discussed most of the issues of dogmatic theology using the scholastic method. In his post-Conciliar work Ku człowiekowi i Bogu w Chrystusie [To Man and God in Christ], the doctrine of angels comes to the fore in close relation to Christian anthropology and its personalistic orientation.

Emotions in the Image of God? The Holistic Vision of Classical Christian Anthropology

In conversation with classical Christian anthropology, this article offers a holistic account of the human person in which reason, emotion, and desire are united in drawing humans to God, mutually informing life lived with a Godward orientation. First, I explore the ways several Christian theologians have construed the relation of reason and emotion in the pre-fall state. I give special attention to Augustine and Gregory of Nyssa. I then bring the themes of these accounts into conversation with contemporary accounts of emotion in philosophy and psychology. I conclude by arguing that the most persuasive accounts of Christian anthropology take the regulation of reason, emotion, and desire to be governed by relationship with God. A holistic walk with God requires the well-ordered collaboration of reason, emotion, and desire. In fact, the union of reason, emotion and desire expresses a creaturely reflection of God’s oneness and holiness.

A Christian Anthropology for the Mentoring Community: Nurturing Love and a Shared Humanity

This essay explores the concept of mentoring communities in the context of Christian higher education. It delves into the importance of forming mentoring communities for faculty, administrators, and students that embrace love, empathy, and a shared commitment to justice, particularly in light of systemic injustices within academia and in the broader society. Drawing from the perspectives of scholars, religious leaders, and personal experiences, the essay emphasizes the need for educators, administrators, and students to engage the college experience on a profound level—acknowledging their vulnerabilities and fostering a sense of unity grounded in a shared humanity. In an academic climate too often marked by isolation and individualism, the commitment to forming mentoring communities through the “art of loving” is seen as a countermeasure, fostering interdependence, relational action, dialogue, and reciprocity. The author underscores the significance of forming students, faculty, and institutional leaders with a focus on intellectual, spiritual, and emotional development—nurturing their capacity to recognize the divine love within themselves and in their neighbors. This dual goal of forming individuals and building a supportive community becomes the foundation for mentoring communities rooted in a Christian anthropology, wherein faculty, administrators, and students discover the fullness of their humanity in the love of God.