Book Description

In these essays honoring ethicist Max Stackhouse, leading Christian scholars consider the historical roots and ongoing resources of public theology as a vital element in the church s engagement with global issues. / Public Theology for a Global Society explores the concept of public theology and the challenge of relating theological claims to a larger social and political context. The range of essays included here allows readers to understand public theology as both theological practice and public speech, and to consider the potential and limits of public theology in ecumenical and international networks. / The essays begin by introducing the reader to the development of public theology as an area of study and to the historical interrelationship of religious, legal, and professional categories. The later essays engage the reader with emerging problems in public theology, as religious communities encounter shifting publics that are being transformed by globalization and sweeping political and technological changes. / The breadth and scholarship of Public Theology for a Global Society make this volume a fitting tribute to Stackhouse a central figure in Christian ethics and pioneer in the church s study of globalization.