Young Scholars Bring New Questions and Multiple Disciplines to Bear on Sacramental Theology

Drone warfare, consumer culture, guilt-driven obedience, faith amidst a pluralistic world are among topics six fresh voices address in a growing collection of articles on sacramental-liturgical theology.

The articles comprise the first half-dozen contributions to Sacramental Theology: Theory and Practice from Multiple Perspectives, a special issue I am guest-editing for the online journal, Religions. Having passed through a rigorous, double-blind, peer-review process, these clearly written open-access texts are available free of charge (due to subventions from major global universities and foundations).

Working from a a rich variety of academic disciplines — systematic theology, science and religion, phenomenology, inter-religious studies, religion and psychology, constructive theology — the titles include:

“Mystery Manifested: Toward a Phenomenology of the Eucharist in Its Liturgical Context” by Christina M. Gschwandtner (Fordham University)

“Drones and Eucharist” by Jason M. Smith (Tougaloo College)

“Converting Consumerism: A Liturgical-Ethical Application of Critical Realism” by Benjamin Durheim (College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University)

“Obedience as Belonging: Catholic Guilt and Frequent Confession in America” by Jonathan Stotts (Christ the King Church, Nashville)

“Pansacramentalism, Interreligious Theology, and Lived Religion” by Hans Gustafson (University of St. Thomas)

“The Epic of Evolution and a Theology of Sacramental Ecology” by David C. McDuffie (The University of North Carolina at Greensboro).

Religions publishes each open-access article as soon as the peer-review and editing process is completed. As guest editor, I have at least another half-dozen articles for this special issue in process, with these further contributions coming from both veteran and newer scholars. In addition to becoming a completed online special issue of the journal sometime this fall, Sacramental Theology: Theory and Practice from Multiple Perspectives will eventually be available as a paperback text.