Where Have All the Theological \u201cPublic Intellectuals\u201d Gone? (An Invitation to Participate)<\/p>\n
Recently I have been lecturing and writing (again) about some of the \u201cgiants\u201d of modern theology: Schleiermacher, Bushnell, Hodge, Ritschl, Rauschenbusch, Machen, Troeltsch, Fosdick, Barth, Brunner, Niebuhr, Tillich, Bonhoeffer, John Courtney Murray, Carl Henry, Hartshorne, et al. Some of them, perhaps all of them, spoke not only to the churches but also to society at large. Several of them graced covers of Time magazine: Fosdick (twice), Barth, Niebuhr, Tillich. Niebuhr was interviewed on a 1958 version of \u201c60 Minutes\u201d by Mike Wallace. Tillich was on the platform (honored guests only!) at Kennedy\u2019s presidential inauguration. Even Henry was the subject of an article in Time. What made these (and perhaps other theologians) \u201cpublic theologians\u201d was that they gained a hearing from even non-Christians as respected voices of reason in the \u201cpublic square.\u201d People turned to them for commentary on public policy\u2014not just as representatives of a perceived lunatic fringe but as spokespersons for religious perspectives that deserve a hearing from everyone.<\/p>\n
Let me illustrate what I\u2019m talking about. When I moved to Germany in 1981 I timidly turned on German television to explore what might be there. The very first thing I saw was a national broadcast on one of the German networks featuring theologian J\u00fcrgen Moltmann delivering a lecture on God and disability to a convention of disabled persons. It wasn\u2019t just a ten second clip on a news program; it was an hour long broadcast during prime time. In Germany Moltmann and some other Christian theologians are considered public intellectuals, not just church theologians.<\/p>\n
Ironically, the only theologians I can recognize as having the status of a public intellectual in American society today (2013) are Stanley Hauerwas and Cornel West. I say \u201cironically\u201d because they eschew the kind of role Niebuhr and many other public intellectuals played\u2014friend and advisor to power. They\u2019re iconoclasts. But even they are not likely to be the subjects of \u201c60 Minutes\u201d segments or grace the cover of Time magazine. However, both have been subjects of article in Time.<\/p>\n
In my estimation, as important as Hauerwas and West are, their public voices are whispers compared with, say, Niebuhr\u2019s or Tillich\u2019s or even John Courtney Murray\u2019s. That\u2019s not because what they have to say is unworthy of wide public attention but because the media have generally turned away from theologians\u2014except those shrill voices on the extreme ends of the social and political spectrums the media use to boost ratings.<\/p>\n
I once conducted a study of Time magazine covers from its inception up until the time I conducted the study (around 1990). I\u2019ve tried to pay attention to Time covers since then as well. I may have missed a few. Until the 1966 \u201cIs God Dead?\u201d infamous cover Time frequently put theologians and noted religious leaders on its covers (which always also meant feature articles about them inside). After that no theologians (unless you consider evangelists and popes theologians) were featured on Time covers. I once found myself on a hotel elevator with the publisher of Time (Henry Luce III) and asked him about that. He said he hadn\u2019t noticed it.<\/p>\n
My theory is that once real theologians came out publicly denying the reality of God many people decided theology isn\u2019t worth paying attention to. It would be as if some medical researchers declared themselves devoted Christian Scientists (i.e., members of the Church of Christ, Scientist). If nothing happened to them, if they were applauded for their courage by their peers, what would people think of medical researchers? Beginning in the 1960s (but with older roots) Christian theology became a joke. Without anyone to yank theologians\u2019 credentials, theologians get by with saying anything. The ethos of the theological (and religious studies) academy is to reward the craziest notions. I realize this is not unique to theology or religious studies, but that\u2019s my area of scholarship, so it\u2019s the one I\u2019m most concerned about.<\/p>\n
Yet there are still voices of reason among theologians that deserve a broader and deeper public hearing. They\u2019re unlikely to get it. Instead of naming candidates here, I want to invite you to name one and give a brief explanation why you think he or she should be on Time\u2019s cover or featured in a \u201c60 Minutes\u201d segment.<\/p>\n
Now what do I mean by \u201cvoices of reason among theologians?\u201d I mean people who express themselves calmly and reasonably\u2014with messages that could be heard and understood and even heeded by the public at large. I\u2019m not assuming a \u201cview from nowhere\u201d kind of Enlightenment rationality. I am assuming that perhaps, hopefully, a confessionally committed theologian might nevertheless be able to express himself or herself to public issues in a way that is persuasive\u2014at least causing people who are not so confessionally committed to stop and think and consider.<\/p>\n
Please post your nominations here and give a brief (two or three sentences) explanation.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Where Have All the Theological \u201cPublic Intellectuals\u201d Gone? (An Invitation to Participate) Recently I have been lecturing and writing (again) about some of the \u201cgiants\u201d of modern theology: Schleiermacher, Bushnell, Hodge, Ritschl, Rauschenbusch, Machen, Troeltsch, Fosdick, Barth, Brunner, Niebuhr, Tillich, Bonhoeffer, John Courtney Murray, Carl Henry, Hartshorne, et al. Some of them, perhaps all of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n