Middle Eastern Christianity Unit
Theologies of Liberation and Contextual Theologies from the Middle East
A growing number of Christian theologians in the Middle East have deployed liberation theology, contextual theology, and other theologies of liberation as a means of understanding their fraught political, social, and economic contexts across the region. We invite contributions from such theologians based in the Middle East to share their engagements with theology to challenge and reconsider current conditions of oppression and injustice. Proposals addressing the strengths and difficulties in such theological engagement and engaging specific social, political, and economic contexts in the region are especially encouraged. This is the first of two sessions the Middle Eastern Christianity Unit is sponsoring this year focusing on Middle Easter theologies, the second being held at the in-person conference in November.
This Unit is devoted to the study of developments within Coptic, Armenian, Chaldean/Assyrian, Syrian, Maronite, and other relevant communities living inside the Middle East or in lands of immigration. The Unit promotes scholarship on themes from the early Christian period to the present, encompassing various approaches and subjects. Its aim is to establish an interdisciplinary platform for fostering scholarly approaches to Middle Eastern Christianity, and to provide opportunities for scholars to discuss their work in relation to the overall field of the study of religion.