CONF: Society of Christian Ethics annual meeting

2011 Annual Meeting of the Society of Christian Ethics (SCE), the Society of Jewish Ethics, and the Society for the Study of Muslim Ethics, Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel, New Orleans, LA, USA, 6-9 January 2011

www.scethics.org/annual-meetings/all/2011

A number of sessions on political theology have been scheduled for this conference, including:

Pieter Dronkers (Protestant Theological University, Utrecht), "The Netherlands: One Nation under God? Christendom, Citizenship and the Re-sacralization of National Loyalty" (7 January, 11.00 am-12.30 pm, room: Grand Ballroom B)

Abstract: "Globalization puts the question what makes a good citizen on top of the Dutch public agenda. Today, some political parties define citizenship in secularist terms, limiting the space for public religious engagement. Others argue that undivided loyalty to the Dutch nation is required. Sometimes Christendom is used to frame and sacralize this allegiance. From a political-theological perspective, the paper evaluates the Dutch debate and especially the remarkable return of Christendom. It argues that the Christian conviction that allegiance to the state is temporal is an important antidote against the idea that absolute civic or national loyalty is a precondition for building a secure society."

John E. Senior (Emory University), "Cruciform Political Agency: Politics Between the Penultimate and the Ultimate" (7 January, 4.00-5.30 pm, room: Bourbon)

Abstract: "The dominant norm of political agency in both political theory and political theology is cooperative, relational, and public discourse. But what, if any, theological sense can be made of political agency when it is uncooperative, instrumental, and even aggressive? This paper first critiques recent Augustinian ontologies of political life, arguing that these fail to respond to the morally ambiguous character of political agency. The paper then develops an alternative model of political agency, which it terms 'cruciform political agency.' This framing posits a political ontology that negotiates the tension between the world and the eschaton and thereby renders theologically intelligible complex configurations of political agency."

Karen V. Guth (University of Virginia), "Beyond Nonviolence: The Feminist/Womanist Political Theology of Martin Luther King, Jr." (8 January, 9.00-10.30 am, room: Bienville)

Abstract: "Scholars often view Martin Luther King Jr.'s contributions to political theology in terms of his philosophy of nonviolence. Drawing on feminist and womanist thought, I argue that King's theo-political practice extends beyond nonviolent resistance to include any 'agapic activity' that forms and sustains community. I uncover in King's thought a conception of agape that resonates with a number of feminists' emphases on the relational and community-oriented nature of love, and I draw on womanist thought to highlight the role of creativity in King's thought. Both suggest a vision of the church's political role as a community of creativity."

Interest Group "Ethics and Catholic Theology" session on "Racism: A Theological Analysis", with the speakers J. Kameron Carter (Duke University) and Bryan N. Massingale (Marquette University; 9 January, 9.00-10.30 am, room: St. Charles B)

Abstract: "Prof. Jay Carter will speak on 'The Christological Problem Revisited; or, The Imperial God-Man and the Catholic Invention of Race' which is material for a book theorizing at the intersection of [C]hristology and political theology. Prof. Bryan Massingale will speak on 'Idolatry/Heresy and the Challenge of Cross-Racial Solidarity,' which will examine the liberationist contention that racism represents not simply an ethical failure, but a theological defect, one which qualifies the task of the virtue of solidarity in Catholic social thought. After their presentations, our speakers will have an opportunity to briefly respond to each other, with ample time for audience questions following."

A few sessions on liberation theology have also been scheduled.

Please find additional information, a full programme, and a registration form on the above website.