Political theology

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | 700+ words | Copyright

Political theology. A Christian concern to explore the implications of theology for political life and thought. The term has an uneasy history, being associated, for example, with the endorsement by Carl Schmitt of Hitler and the rise of German nationalism. However, the term is now usually associated with the work of Johann Baptist Metz (who sometimes uses the phrase ‘the new political theology’) and Dorothee Sölle. In contrast to what it takes to be the traditional concentration of theology on the individual and on personal holiness, allowing the support of virtually any political system or party (or none), Metz sees ‘the deprivatising of theology as the primary critical task of political theology’. Orthopraxy becomes the mark of true discipleship more than the traditional orthodoxy. The connections with liberation theology are clear.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Political theology." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Political theology." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Politicaltheology.html

JOHN BOWKER. "Political theology." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Politicaltheology.html

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