Nonviolent Politics and the Force of Hope: Christian Eschatology and Judith Butler’s Political Philosophy

This paper offers a potential solution to the collusion of theological claims about humanity and dehumanizing violence, socially mediated forms of harm that undermine human dignity. Using the work of theologian Edward Schillebeeckx and philosopher Judith Butler, it promotes the force of Christian eschatological hope as a methodological pathway beyond such harm. Schillebeeckx’s thought responds to experiences of contrast and suffering by reimagining humanity in line with the Reign of God and promoting a form of theology that works to defend the humanum, the new humanity announced by God coming into creation. Butler examines the ways a “world” conditions human subjectivity as circumscribed by violence. Their political philosophy promotes a nonviolent force of hope as a practice of worldbuilding. In integrating Schillebeeckx’s and Butler’s reflections on violence and humanity, this paper challenges theology to implement the force of hope to actively dismantle forms of dehumanizing violence through generating new worlds.