{"id":1658,"date":"2012-12-31T10:32:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-31T10:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/12\/subverting-the-norm-ii-can-postmodern-theology-live-in-the-churches.html"},"modified":"2012-12-31T10:32:00","modified_gmt":"2012-12-31T10:32:00","slug":"subverting-the-norm-ii-can-postmodern-theology-live-in-the-churches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/12\/subverting-the-norm-ii-can-postmodern-theology-live-in-the-churches.html","title":{"rendered":"SUBVERTING THE NORM II: CAN POSTMODERN THEOLOGY LIVE IN THE CHURCHES?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

\u201cMy atheism gets on in the churches, all the churches, do you understand that?\u201d \u2013<\/em>\u2013 Jacques Derrida<\/span><\/div>\n
Subverting the Norm \u2014 a two-day event that brings together pastors, theologians, philosophers, church practitioners, and researchers in religion \u2014 asks a follow-up question:Can postmodern theology live in the churches?<\/em>\u00a0As such, we are interested in presentations that explore the relationship between radical theologies and the church.<\/span><\/div>\n
About the Conference Series:<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
\u201cPostmodernism and Religion,\u201d Derrida says; \u201ctwo things that are strange to me.\u201d And yet his work has been seen as part of the \u201ctheological turn\u201d in so-called \u201cpostmodern philosophy,\u201d which has surprisingly become the most formative school of thought shaping the future of twenty-first-century theology. While many contemporary philosophers continue to turn to the Christian tradition\u2014often interpreting it in radical, even irreligious, ways\u2014do they ever wonder, with Derrida, how their atheism gets on in so many of the churches? The political \u201cturn to Paul,\u201d for example, has furnished a variety of philosophers with the means to re-think concepts such as faith, reason, truth, universality and subjectivity. But, while these secular interpretations of Paul\u2019s letters have enabled on-going discussions between philosophers, theologians and biblical scholars, the \u201cSubverting the Norm\u201d conference series specifically attends to the relationships between all these philosophical turns and lived religion, particularly within what might be called the \u201cactually existing\u201d churches. It examines how continental philosophy both inspires radical theologies within the academy and energizes everyday religious discourse and practice.<\/span><\/div>\n
About the 2013 Conference:<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
The conference organizers welcome presentations (format open) that examine the intersection of postmodern philosophy (broadly understood), radical theology and actually existing Christianity to answer the question, \u201cCan postmodern theology live in the churches?\u201d We are especially interested in presenters who can bridge the gap between the academy and the church, and whose presentations are accessible to specialists and non-specialists alike. Preference will be given to presentations that connect not only with the academic community, but with church audiences as well.<\/span><\/div>\n
Conference delegates will be encouraged to ask:<\/span><\/div>\n
    \n
  • Can the actually existing churches speak meaningfully to those who aren\u2019t so sure about the supernatural or magical or the metaphysical, which include the fastest growing demographic in North America, the \u201cnones,\u201d those with no formal religious affiliation?<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Can the church retain a viable role in a world where God is often viewed as a relic of the past, or as a grand Santa Claus in the sky, or perhaps even as a narcotic or neurosis that we\u2019d do well to get rid of?<\/span><\/li>\n
  • And if the churches are to be faithful to the revolutionary event that gave birth to Christianity, or if they are to recover their theological voice in a compelling and transformative way, is it possible to do so by listening to voices on the margins of the church, or outside of the church, including even those who might \u201crightly pass for atheists?\u201d Perhaps more to the point, why are voices on the fringes of the church, or outside of the church, becoming more influential on church leaders and practitioners than the traditionally \u201corthodox\u201d voices inside the churches?<\/span><\/li>\n
  • What happens when churches become open not only to postmodern forms of culture, but to postmodern approaches to theology? In other words, is it possible for churches to not settle for what John Caputo calls \u201can abridged version of postmodernism\u201d that only takes into account postmodern culture, but not theological questions related to what comes after the God of metaphysics?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    Call for Presentations:<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
    Conference presentations may focus on any figure(s) and\/or stream(s) of thought within recent and contemporary philosophy and theology, but must address their relationship to lived religion by attending to questions such as:<\/span><\/div>\n
      \n
    • In what ways are philosophy and theology impacting everyday Christian discourse and practice? What does this mean for the life of the church?<\/span><\/li>\n
    • What is the relationship between philosophy, theology, and community practices, including but not limited to liturgy and ritual?<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Is it possible for postmodern forms of theological discourse to inform pastoral leadership and church practice, even if the majority of participants
      \nwithin a given church aren\u2019t familiar with such concepts in a theoretical way?<\/span><\/li>\n
    • More generally speaking, how do the radical edges of postmodern philosophy and theology influence the practices of the church? How can themes addressed in the postmodern turn to religion be helpful within the actually existing churches, particularly in relation to ministerial practice and church leadership?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      We are particularly interested in presentations that seek to answer the following questions:<\/span><\/div>\n
        \n
      • How can the actually existing churches remain faithful to the event that gave birth to Christianity?<\/span><\/li>\n
      • How can Christianity\u2014especially as expressed in the teachings of conventional churches both liberal and conservative\u2014become more than a psychological crutch?<\/span><\/li>\n
      • How can it resist being just a protective umbrella for a particular group identity or merely another niche in the consumer market?<\/span><\/li>\n
      • How might it recover its revolutionary potential, hinted at within various contemporary philosophies and theologies?<\/span><\/li>\n
      • And, might the church do so by listening to those on the margins of Christianity and those who \u201crightly pass for atheists\u201d?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        Please send presentation abstracts of\u00a0no more than 250 words<\/strong>\u00a0to subvertingthenorm@gmail.com by the submission\u00a0deadline<\/strong>\u00a0of\u00a0January 31, 2013<\/strong>. Also please indicate any A\/V needs.<\/span><\/div>\n
        After the conference, a select number of contributions will be considered for publication in an edited collection.<\/span><\/div>\n
        Registration details will soon be posted online at\u00a0subvertingthenorm.wordpress.com.<\/span><\/div>\n
        Further questions may be directed to Katharine Sarah Moody (katharinesarahmoody@gmail.com) or Phil Snider (philsnider@gmail.com).<\/span><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        \u201cMy atheism gets on in the churches, all the churches, do you understand that?\u201d \u2013\u2013 Jacques Derrida Subverting the Norm \u2014 a two-day event that brings together pastors, theologians, philosophers, church practitioners, and researchers in religion \u2014 asks a follow-up question:Can postmodern theology live in the churches?\u00a0As such, we are interested in presentations that explore […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2251,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSUBVERTING THE NORM II: CAN POSTMODERN THEOLOGY LIVE IN THE CHURCHES?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cMy atheism gets on in the churches, all the churches, do you understand that?\u201d -- Jacques DerridaSubverting the Norm \u2014 a two-day event that brings\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/12\/subverting-the-norm-ii-can-postmodern-theology-live-in-the-churches.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SUBVERTING THE NORM II: CAN POSTMODERN THEOLOGY LIVE IN THE CHURCHES?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cMy atheism gets on in the churches, all the churches, do you understand that?\u201d -- Jacques DerridaSubverting the Norm \u2014 a two-day event that brings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/12\/subverting-the-norm-ii-can-postmodern-theology-live-in-the-churches.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rhetoric Race and Religion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-12-31T10:32:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andre E. 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