Public Lecture of the 15. International conference of the ESWTR


Thursday, 29th of August 2013

7:30 pm

Haus der Kirche, Dresden


Occupy Heaven: Are God, Religion, and Politics beyond rescue?

Although references to religion and the divine have often shored up conservative politics and the status quo, there are alternative expressions that are making a difference today. References to religion and the divine shape up differently in various social movements, among them the recent Occupy Wall Street movement, which bring together the concerns of economics, politics, and cultural change.

Kwok and Rieger argue for a new political subject, “the multitude,” which emerges at the intersection of various grassroots movements and theologies, including feminist theology, Latin American liberation theology, and Korean minung (people) theology. In its wake, religion, the divine, and politics are transformed and offer genuine support for liberation.

This presentation combines the novel and complementary perspectives of two theologians who work and teach in different international contexts. Kwok is a pioneer of postcolonial theory and cultural studies in religion and theology. Rieger has pioneered a fresh understanding of economics and class in religion and theology, and is also in conversation with postcolonial theory and cultural studies.

 

 

Prof Dr. Kwok Pui-Lan

Kwok Pui-Lan is the William F. Cole Professor of Christian Theology and Spirituality at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, MA. She finished her PhD at Harvard University. Furthermore, she received honorary doctorates from Kampen Theological University (Netherlands) and Uppsala University (Sweden). In 2011, she was President of the American Academy of Religion.

Research interests:

  • (Asian) Feminist Theology
  • Hermeneutics
  • World Christianity
  • Post-colonialism
  • Religion and culture
  • Asian Religions


Prof. Dr. Jörg Rieger

Jörg Rieger is Professor of Constructive Theology at the Perkins School of Theology which is part of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. In his works, Rieger develops an anti-imperialistic and anti-colonialistic theological hermeneutic. He reinterprets the ministry of Jesus against the backdrop of the Roman Empire. In addition to his advancement of liberation theologies, Prof. Rieger works on postcolonial and postmodern theories with a special focus on international integration and processes of globalization. Prof. Dr. Jörg Rieger is ordained pastor of the United Methodist Church.

Selected publications:

Occupy Religion: Theology of the Multitude (2012) (with Kwok Pui-Lan).
Traveling: Christian Explorations of Daily Living (2011).
Globalization and Theology (2010).
No Rising Tide: Theology, Economics, and the Future (2009).
 Christ and Empire: From Paul to Postcolonial Times (2007).

Research interests:

  • systematic, constructive, historical and contemporary theologies, liberation theologies as well as theology and religion in social contexts
  • anti-imperialistic theory and critical theory of financial markets at the points of intersection with theology, social- and cultural sciences and business theory
  • linking and advancement of theory and activist strategies for the option for the poor