Entangled Fidelities: Towards a Relational Christian Realism for the Public Sphere

Baker, Christopher; Reader, John and James, Thomas A.. 2015. Entangled Fidelities: Towards a Relational Christian Realism for the Public Sphere. Political Theology, 16(3), pp. 247-263. ISSN 1462-317X [Article]

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Abstract or Description

This article articulates a new concept within public and political theology, namely relational Christian realism, which it encapsulates within the notion of Entangled Fidelities. It proposes that the interlocking of a series of highly problematic areas of current human experience, reflected, for example, in the ongoing economic and environmental crises, require a reformulation of the Christian realism tradition. In this reformulation, aspects of this tradition are brought into close and critical dialogue with key voices from philosophy, sociology, and theology: namely, H Richard Niebuhr, Bruno Latour, and Manuel Castells. The dynamics and methodologies associated with relational Christian realism are further explicated with reference to a number of case studies. The article concludes by suggesting that this new (and as yet speculative) conceptual term needs fuller explication and development with regard to empirical research in a number of cross-over fields in which faith-based and no faith-based social actors are engaged in a new politics of postsecular rapprochement.

Item Type:

Article

Identification Number (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1179/1462317X14Z.000000000110

Keywords:

Christian realism, Bruno Latour, Manuel Castells, H. Richard Niebuhr, public policy, Radical Orthodoxy, postliberalism

Departments, Centres and Research Units:

Social, Therapeutic & Community Engagement (STaCS)

Dates:

DateEvent
29 May 2015Published Online
2015Published

Item ID:

21849

Date Deposited:

09 Oct 2017 12:16

Last Modified:

21 May 2020 14:21

Peer Reviewed:

Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.

URI:

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/21849

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