Princeton Theological Seminary
Barth & the Political
2023 Karl Barth Conference
June 18—21, 2023 • Hybrid Conference
Center for Barth Studies
Barth & the Political
The task of theology, as Karl Barth maintained throughout his life, is to talk about God, but who this God is will invariably conjure up conflict with political power aspirations. Barth’s positioning of theology has always been contested—as too political by some, as un-political or anti-political by others–and his concrete theological commitments as well as his concrete political stances have been problematized in a variety of ways.
The aim of the conference is simple and momentous: to engage the contested and the disruptive in both the theological and the political. Major scholars working in different areas of political theology will test and contest Barth as a resource for political theology, broadly construed, and enter into critical and constructive conversation with Barth. The conference will foster new conversations on Barth and political theology, generate creative space for critical engagement, and explore the potential for an explicitly theological stance in complex and difficult social and political contexts.
Barth understood theological judgments to be entangled with political judgments. Barth was acutely aware of death-dealing political theologies that emerge from religious nationalism and its programs. Certainly, every biography of Barth references his commitment to socialism, his preaching to struggling blue-collar workers, and the fervent objection to his teachers for their political illusions. That Barth was immersed in the political cannot be refuted. The aim of the conference is to read Barth out of the box together with those who are not by name or profession “dedicated Barth scholars” because we agree with Barth, that “the Christian community is of ultimate and supremely political significance.” The aim is to read Barth squarely situated in his context because we think his context may be relevant to the “prevailing present”—current religious forms of nationalism in the United States make Barth’s context a little closer to home than we might like to think. Conference participants were selected because they each agree we ought always to attend to the most urgent questions of theology. Reading theology through the prism of Barth’s political commitments is heuristic for considering theology as a site of resistance and as prophetic witness.
Call for Papers
We invite contributions on the theme of “Barth and the Political,” broadly construed. That Barth’s theology—both in its explicit advocacy and in its a- and anti-political stances—was deeply immersed in the political cannot be denied. Barth fervently objected to his teachers’ theological indulgence of political aspirations, and opted for a way of doing theology that reserved Lordship to Christ alone. At the same time, his engagement with religious socialism, his stances against nationalism and totalitarianism, and his commentary on preaching with the bible in one and the newspaper in the other hand are well known. We invite contributions that investigate particular sites of Barth’s political engagement, dive into his theo-political method, and explore the promise and limitations of Barth’s theology for political theologies. Our aim is not to “get Barth right” but to critically examine Barth in his own contextual involvements, to constructively mine Barth’s theology for pressing contemporary political issues, and to reflect on how the theological and the political relate.
Abstracts not exceeding 300 words should be sent to barth.center@ptsem.edu no later than February 28, 2023. Papers should not exceed 3,500 words in order to be delivered in 30 minutes with 15-20 minutes reserved for Q&A. Please include your personal information including current academic standing separate from your submission to allow for anonymous review.
Accepted applicants will receive free registration and lodging. If you are a graduate student, there will be a 2023 Barth Graduate Student Colloquium on the same theme of “Barth & The Political” directly prior to the conference. Click this link for more information.
Speakers











At Emory, Smith also teaches in the Graduate Division of Religion and is an affiliated faculty member with the Center for the Study of Law and Religion. Beyond Emory, Smith serves as a senior fellow with the University of Virginia’s project on Religion and Its Publics, the steering committee of the Political Theology Network, and a member of the editorial boards for Political Theology and Practical Matters. He recently completed two terms on the board of the Louisville Institute.
Schedule
Sunday, June 18, 2023
Time (ET)
Session
Presenter
6:00- 7:30PM ET
Registration
7:30- 9:00PM ET
Opening Panel Discussion
Dr. Hanna Reichel
Dr. Devin Singh
Dr. Rothney S. Tshaka
Dr. Natalia Marandiuc
Dr. Catherine Keller
Monday, June 19, 2023
Morning Session
Time (ET)
Session
Presenter(s)
9:00- 10:15AM ET
Plenary Lecture #2
Dr. Brandy Daniels
Break
10:45AM- 12:00PM ET
Plenary Lecture #3
Dr. Devin Singh
Lunch Break (12:00- 1:00PM ET)
Afternoon Session
Time (ET)
Session
Presenter(s)
1:30- 2:30PM ET
Concurrent Sessions
3:00- 4:15PM ET
Plenary Lecture #4
4:30- 5:45PM ET
Plenary Lecture #5
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Morning Session
Time (ET)
Session
Presenter(s)
9:00- 10:15AM ET
Plenary lecture #6
Dr. Hanna Reichel
Break
10:45AM- 12:00PM ET
Plenary Lecture #7
Dr. Natalia Marandiuc
Lunch Break (12:00- 1:00PM ET)
Afternoon Session
Time (ET)
Session
Presenter(s)
1:30- 2:30PM ET
Concurrent Sessions
3:00- 4:15PM ET
Plenary Lecture #8
4:30- 5:45PM ET
Plenary Lecture #9
Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Morning Session
Time (ET)
Session
Presenter(s)
9:00- 10:00AM ET
Plenary lecture #10
Dr. Andrea White
Break
11:00AM- 12:00PM ET
Closing Panel
Dr. Andrea C. White
Dr. Eboni Marshall Turman
Rev. Dr. Ted Smith
Dr. Brandy Daniels
Dr. Gary Dorrien
Dr. J. Kameron Carter
Center for Barth Studies
The Center for Barth Studies at Princeton Theological Seminary exists to provide leading resources on the theology and legacy of Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth (1886–1968). The center hosts programs and events, provides research resources and tools, and facilitates constructive theological conversation in order to educate, equip, and empower scholars, students, pastors, and citizens worldwide for engagement with the Reformed theological tradition and its public significance today.
Steering Committee


