Abstract
Religiosity is still a significant force in people’s lives and in politics, particularly in situations of precarity. Religiosity addresses experiences of being vulnerable. Hence religious resources are relevant in reinterpreting vulnerability for ethical and political purposes. Religious practices and imaginations are plural and internally contradictory, and represent diverse interpretations of vulnerability. Identifying and distinguishing such interpretations is an important task for research, and a basis for developing a political theology of vulnerability. Christian faith contains resources that may challenge a conventional view of vulnerability and support and reconceptualised, affirmative view that is emerging in vulnerability studies across academic disciplines. In my book A Political Theology of Vulnerability (Brill 2023) I argue that at the core of Christian interpretation of life in light of faith in the God of Jesus Christ, there is a sacralization of vulnerability. God’s sacredness is revealed in vulnerable embodiment (Christmas / incarnation), and culminates sub specie contrarii, in the confession to the crucified Christ (Easter/ crucifixion) as God’s living image and overcoming of forces of death. The Christian practices of celebration (Christmas / Easter) can be seen as performances that may inspire and express political agency as well as constitute political community. However, any religious practice that focuses on a paradoxical value of painful experiences of exposition and loss, may also inadvertently lead to idealizations and harmonization of asymmetrical power relations. Furthermore, sacralization understood as a human endeavor may undermine the openness for divine agency and revelation. In this paper, I discuss these critical challenges.
Presenters
Sturla J. StålsettProfessor, MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society, Norway
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2025 Special Focus—Fragile Meanings: Vulnerability in the Study of Religions and Spirituality
KEYWORDS
Political Theology, Vulnerability Studies, Sacralization, Christology, Incarnation, Crucifixion
