- Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology, Faculty Memberadd
- Joerg Rieger is Distinguished Professor of Theology and Cal Turner Chancellor’s Chair in Wesleyan Studies at the Divi... moreJoerg Rieger is Distinguished Professor of Theology and Cal Turner Chancellor’s Chair in Wesleyan Studies at the Divinity School and the Graduate Program of Religion at Vanderbilt University. Previously he was the Wendland-Cook Endowed Professor of Constructive Theology at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. He received an M.Div. from the Theologische Hochschule Reutlingen, Germany, a Th.M. from Duke Divinity School, and a Ph.D. in religion and ethics from Duke University.For more than two decades he has worked to bring together theology and the struggles for justice and liberation that mark our age. His work addresses the relation of theology and public life, reflecting on the misuse of power in religion, politics, and economics. His main interest is in developments and movements that bring about change and in the positive contributions of religion and theology. His constructive work in theology draws on a wide range of historical and contemporary traditions, with a concern for manifestations of the divine in the pressures of everyday life.Author and editor of more than 20 books and over 125 academic articles, his books include Unified We are a Force: How Faith and Labor Can Overcome America’s Inequalities (with Rosemarie Henkel-Rieger, 2016), Faith on the Road: A Short Theology of Travel and Justice (2015), Occupy Religion: Theology of the Multitude (with Kwok Pui-lan, 2012), Grace under Pressure: Negotiating the Heart of the Methodist Traditions (2011), Globalization and Theology (2010), No Rising Tide: Theology, Economics, and the Future (2009), Christ and Empire: From Paul to Postcolonial Times (2007), and God and the Excluded: Visions and Blindspots in Contemporary Theology (2001). His books have been translated into Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, German, Korean, and Chinese. Rieger is editor of the academic book series New Approaches to Religion and Power with Palgrave Macmillan Publishers and, together with Professor Kwok Pui-lan, he edits the academic book series Religion in the Modern World (Rowman and Littlefield).Rieger has lectured throughout the United States as well as internationally, including presentations in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Canada, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Belgium, England, Russia, and China. Rieger is on the board of directors of the Texas New ERA Center and Jobs with Justice in North Texas. He is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church.Website: www.joergrieger.comedit
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The accusation that those who address matters of class are instigating class struggle is an old one. It stems from the assumption contested in this book that class is not an issue with which we need to be concerned any more because we are... more
The accusation that those who address matters of class are instigating class struggle is an old one. It stems from the assumption contested in this book that class is not an issue with which we need to be concerned any more because we are living in a world where classes either have been abolished altogether, or in which the boundaries between classes have become so permeable that people can freely choose the class to which they care to belong. In recent history, the accusation of instigating class struggle has been leveled again against the Occupy Wall Street movement and its attention to matters of class, with particular regard to the difference between the 1 percent and the 99 percent.
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Abstract This essay revisits the importance of labour/class relationships that point to the global phenomenon of increasingly unequal distribution of power at work for the sake of profit extraction. Class and labour relations have... more
Abstract
This essay revisits the importance of labour/class relationships that point to the global phenomenon of increasingly unequal distribution of power at work for the sake of profit extraction. Class and labour relations have important implications for people's political agency, personal and communal relationships. Religion, as an everyday people's movement, cannot but attend to the metamorphosis that is happening to labour and power relations in society. On the other hand, labour movements can also benefit from religious communities because they tend to be well-organised and are often trying to make a positive difference in their environments. Alluding to Paul Tillich, this essay perceives productive and reproductive labour as the "ultimate concern" of theology and affirms that the engagement of religion and labour movements will envisage a new quality of international solidarity in
the contemporary era of Capitalocene.
Keywords: Labour relationships, political agency, lived religion, intersectionality, Capitalocene
This essay revisits the importance of labour/class relationships that point to the global phenomenon of increasingly unequal distribution of power at work for the sake of profit extraction. Class and labour relations have important implications for people's political agency, personal and communal relationships. Religion, as an everyday people's movement, cannot but attend to the metamorphosis that is happening to labour and power relations in society. On the other hand, labour movements can also benefit from religious communities because they tend to be well-organised and are often trying to make a positive difference in their environments. Alluding to Paul Tillich, this essay perceives productive and reproductive labour as the "ultimate concern" of theology and affirms that the engagement of religion and labour movements will envisage a new quality of international solidarity in
the contemporary era of Capitalocene.
Keywords: Labour relationships, political agency, lived religion, intersectionality, Capitalocene
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The first generation of Latin American liberation theologies was marked by the methodological status of the preferential option for the poor. In the following generations, this commitment was further developed in the struggle for a new... more
The first generation of Latin American liberation theologies was marked by the methodological status of the preferential option for the poor. In the following generations, this commitment was further developed in the struggle for a new way of doing theology, even more connected to material life, and disciplines such as history and economics were added. With this, the organizational structures of life in society started to be discussed in more critical, systemic, and prophetic ways. Especially thinking of the Latin American and US contexts, the production of theology derived from this intersectionality seeks not only to highlight and analyze the economic structures that cause exploitation (class), inequalities (gender and sexuality), and racism, but to identify how religion undergirds solidarity movements. The method applied to discuss these themes is bibliographical research. As a broad conclusion, this article indicates that future liberation theologies should discuss what the mult...
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The first generation of Latin American liberation theologies was marked by the methodological status of the preferential option for the poor. In the following generations, this commitment was further developed in the struggle for a new... more
The first generation of Latin American liberation theologies was marked by the methodological
status of the preferential option for the poor. In the following generations, this commitment
was further developed in the struggle for a new way of doing theology, even more connected to
material life, and disciplines such as history and economics were added. With this, the organizational
structures of life in society started to be discussed in more critical, systemic, and prophetic ways.
Especially thinking of the Latin American and US contexts, the production of theology derived from
this intersectionality seeks not only to highlight and analyze the economic structures that cause
exploitation (class), inequalities (gender and sexuality), and racism, but to identify how religion
undergirds solidarity movements. The method applied to discuss these themes is bibliographical
research. As a broad conclusion, this article indicates that future liberation theologies should discuss
what the multiple victims of capitalism (always the majority of the population, never merely a
minority) do in order to survive, related to the alternatives they create; discuss solidarity as the
foundation that opposes social evil; and discuss the illusions of individualism that cover up both
existing relationships of exploitation as well as solidarity.
status of the preferential option for the poor. In the following generations, this commitment
was further developed in the struggle for a new way of doing theology, even more connected to
material life, and disciplines such as history and economics were added. With this, the organizational
structures of life in society started to be discussed in more critical, systemic, and prophetic ways.
Especially thinking of the Latin American and US contexts, the production of theology derived from
this intersectionality seeks not only to highlight and analyze the economic structures that cause
exploitation (class), inequalities (gender and sexuality), and racism, but to identify how religion
undergirds solidarity movements. The method applied to discuss these themes is bibliographical
research. As a broad conclusion, this article indicates that future liberation theologies should discuss
what the multiple victims of capitalism (always the majority of the population, never merely a
minority) do in order to survive, related to the alternatives they create; discuss solidarity as the
foundation that opposes social evil; and discuss the illusions of individualism that cover up both
existing relationships of exploitation as well as solidarity.
Research Interests: Sociology and Materialism
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Theology and globalization are not two separate subjects. They are organically intertwined rather than artificially connected. As we investigate Christian theology and globalization together, it will become clear that theology can no... more
Theology and globalization are not two separate subjects. They are organically intertwined rather than artificially connected. As we investigate Christian theology and globalization together, it will become clear that theology can no longer be understood without globalization. Equally important for the topic, however, is that globalization can ultimately not be understood without theology. In this article, different manifestations of the relation of globalization and theology will be examined, investigating both dominant positions and alternative takes. Since the evaluation of these phenomena is complex, moralizing accounts that attribute less than pristine intentions to the other side are not helpful. Instead, we will need to examine what contributions are made to true human well-being and the well-being of the world, and which models correspond best with Judeo-Christian understandings of divine power that is shared rather than hierarchical.
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Even though Germany’s colonial empire lasted merely three decades, from 1884 to 1915, German colonial fantasies shaped intellectual production from the late eighteenth century onward. This cultural climate shapes a great variety of... more
Even though Germany’s colonial empire lasted merely three decades, from 1884 to 1915, German colonial fantasies shaped intellectual production from the late eighteenth century onward. This cultural climate shapes a great variety of engagements with the Bible, from the beginnings of liberal theology with Friedrich Schleiermacher to missionary efforts and the rather abstract academic productions of biblical scholarship in the late nineteenth century, including the prominent history of religions school. At the same time, there are also efforts to resist colonial tendencies, sometimes in the work of the same authors who otherwise perpetuate the colonial spirit.
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Acknowledgments Chapter 1 Why Occupy Religion? Chapter 2 We Are the 99 Percent Chapter 3 The Multitude Springs into Action Chapter 4 Theology of the Multitude Chapter 5 Reimagining the God of the Multitude Chapter 6 Envisioning the Church... more
Acknowledgments Chapter 1 Why Occupy Religion? Chapter 2 We Are the 99 Percent Chapter 3 The Multitude Springs into Action Chapter 4 Theology of the Multitude Chapter 5 Reimagining the God of the Multitude Chapter 6 Envisioning the Church of the Multitude Epilogue
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As we investigate matters of Christianity and capitalism in the current context, the fundamental theological question is: What difference does religion make in a world of traumatic economic inequality? Before we can get to that question,... more
As we investigate matters of Christianity and capitalism in the current context, the fundamental theological question is: What difference does religion make in a world of traumatic economic inequality? Before we can get to that question, however, I first need to address another question: What difference does capitalism make to religion?1 This is the question that most people forget to ask, supporters and critics of capitalism alike. My point is that Christianity and capitalism are interconnected in many ways. Economic matters are never just about money. In fact, economic matters shape us more deeply than we think: they shape the way we live our lives, they shape our relationships, what we think and feel, all the way down. Religion and faith are also among the matters affected by economics. Christianity may serve as an example. The most blatant example of course is the so-called Gospel of Prosperity, which promises people unprecedented wealth and happiness if they support the precept...
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Across the globe, conditions of labour are worsening, providing both challenges and opportunities. As labour is one of the places where the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class is always at work, new models... more
Across the globe, conditions of labour are worsening, providing both challenges and opportunities. As labour is one of the places where the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class is always at work, new models of resistance are created here as well. Deep solidarity describes what happens when the 99% who have to work for a living (including people who are excluded from the job market) realise what they have in common, in order to employ their differences productively in the struggle. In this article, a theologian and a labour and community organiser work together showing how the Abrahamic religious traditions and developments in the world of labour help us to shape deeper forms of solidarity.
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The hope of Abraham was “hope against hope,” the apostle Paul notes in a famous passage in his letter to the Romans 4:18. Such is the hope of the underdog, whose hope is not backed up by the powers that be, manifest by the prevalent... more
The hope of Abraham was “hope against hope,” the apostle Paul notes in a famous passage in his letter to the Romans 4:18. Such is the hope of the underdog, whose hope is not backed up by the powers that be, manifest by the prevalent empires of the day. Any discussion of hope in this context needs to deal with the limits of hope that have been expressed powerfully by Miguel De La Torre in his book Embracing Hopelessness (2017). As a result, the faith of Abraham that led to hope against hope cannot be blind faith, or what has sometimes been called “the power of positive thinking.” COVID-19 has once again reinforced this insight. Only when the challenges and the roadblocks to faith and hope are seen and embraced, and when false hope is exposed for what it is, can glimpses of real hope break through.
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In this volume illustrious liberation theologians succinctly map the liberation terrain for the new century. Writing from a variety of standpoints - the African American community, feminist struggles, and social locations in Europe, North... more
In this volume illustrious liberation theologians succinctly map the liberation terrain for the new century. Writing from a variety of standpoints - the African American community, feminist struggles, and social locations in Europe, North America, and Latin America - these leading thinkers reflect on the vastly changed context of and challenges to liberation. Their reflections directly address the new situation, especially the emergence of a global market economy, shifting structures of oppression, and the advent of multiculturalism and postmodernism.
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An academic directory and search engine.
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Friedrich Schleiermacher’s work appears in new perspective when examined in the context of his little-known studies of far-away countries such as Australia and its inhabitants as well as the “colonial phantasies” of his time. His views of... more
Friedrich Schleiermacher’s work appears in new perspective when examined in the context of his little-known studies of far-away countries such as Australia and its inhabitants as well as the “colonial phantasies” of his time. His views of the Jewish religion and its practitioners can also be reassessed in this light. As the connections between the flows of power and ideas are examined, a deeper understanding of Schleiermacher’s theology emerges both in terms of its limitations and its potential. This deeper understanding also throws new light on more overarching matters in Schleiermacher research, such as the character of his philosophical method and his hermeneutic.
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Few would dispute that political and intercultural theologies are here to stay. What is disputed, however, is their place in the academy. It is frequently assumed that political and intercultural theologies are merely examples of special... more
Few would dispute that political and intercultural theologies are here to stay. What is disputed, however, is their place in the academy. It is frequently assumed that political and intercultural theologies are merely examples of special interests and concerns and thus optional, to be embraced by some but not by others. The terminology of contextual theology has added to the confusion, as contexts are often misunderstood as the special interests and concerns of some rather than others. This article argues that political and intercultural theologies are not optional but necessary for the academic study of theology and religion today. Rather than special interest, they promote fresh approaches to the common interest, challenging seemingly unilateral and universal approaches.
While Cone often recognizes that his theology lacks a proper treatment of class, he is reluctant to include it as a necessary part of his own theological discourse. Placing Frederick Herzog and James Cone in conversation, this article... more
While Cone often recognizes that his theology lacks a proper treatment of class, he is reluctant to include it as a necessary part of his own theological discourse. Placing Frederick Herzog and James Cone in conversation, this article offers a substantial defense of the importance of considering both in concert as a way forward in unifying the concerns of the oppressed while putting to productive use their differences, and as a way of opening up dialogue between black and white theologians on the question of liberation.
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