Professor of Comparative Religion and Missiology, Faculty of Protestant Theology, Johannes Gutenberg Universität, Mainz, Germany
“Intercultural theology is a form of theological repentance of the North” (Werner Ustorf). It disrupts and subverts Western academic theological discourses and creates a space for the voices of the poor and oppressed and those who are culturally and religiously different to be heard. Yet, it is committed to critically thinking the project of enlightenment through till the end by confronting it’s dark side and blind spots. Intercultural theology is not about creating a new meta theology but a habitus of respect, recognition and empathy and providing a platform for a dialogue that is aware that it’s flipside is conflict and the power structures involved. In the seminar we will discuss theories of intercultural and contextual theology. We will not only work with texts but also with visual arts as an alternative source of doing theology. When we open the toolbox of intercultural theology, hermeneutics, aesthetics and ethics come to the fore. As subjects of our theologies, we will also engage our own contextual experiences and research projects in an intercultural dialogue.
Volker Küster, Dr. theol. Dr. h.c. (Lund), born 1962, studied theology in Heidelberg and Seoul / South Korea (1982-1990); 1990-1997 lecturer at the Theological Faculty, University of Heidelberg, ordained as minister 1999; 2002-2012 Professor of Cross-cultural Theology, Protestant Theological University, Kampen, The Netherlands; since Oct. 2012, Prof. of Comparative Religion and Intercultural Theology, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany. Prof. Küster explores the interconfessional, intercultural and interreligious dimensions of Christian faith by employing methods such as hermeneutics, aesthetics, communication theory, postcolonial critic and globalization theory. Perspectives of culture, religion, race, class, gender and inclusion are involved in this multi-axial approach. His research in contextual and intercultural theology evolves along two lines: dialog, conflict and reconciliation and visual art and religion.
Selection of monographs: The Many Faces of Jesus Christ, revised Edition 2023; God/Terror. Ethics and Aesthetics in Contexts of Conflict and Reconciliation, 2021; A Protestant Theology of Passion. Korean Minjung Theology revisited, 2010; Einführung in die Interkulturelle Theologie, 2011; [in total: 7 monographs (translations into several languages), 14 edited volumes and ca. 80 scholarly articles]. Series Editor: contactzone. Explorations in Intercultural Theology (EVA Leipzig); Theologische Interventionen (Kohlhammer Stuttgart); contact: kuester@uni-mainz.de.