Lutheran, Ecumenical, and Interreligious Conversations by WANDA DEIFELT, Professor of Religion
Luther, the Roverud Fellowship, and the ecumenical movement
Since the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017, there has been a heightened awareness that Luther’s theology can be translated anew by addressing contemporary challenges ranging from climate change to gender violence and economic inequality. Even if Martin Luther had not explicitly addressed these topics, in my research (“Luther’s Theology in the Public Square”) I propose that his insights can serve as hermeneutical lenses through which we can critically evaluate and propose alternatives to current challenges. In 2017 I had been asked to do several lectures on topics related to the Reformation in the United States and elsewhere. In my presentations I addressed themes as diverse as “Yesterday you were Catholic and today you are Lutheran” (La Crosse, WI), “Here We Stand: Top 10 Reasons for Being Lutheran” (Rochester, MN), “Reclaiming an Ethic of Care in Luther’s Theology of Embodiment” (Washington, DC), “Planetary
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Agora/Spring 2020
Solidarity: Global Women’s Voices on Christian Doctrine and Climate Justice” (American Academy of Religion, Boston), “Luther and the Catholic Church” (Gettysburg, PA), “Protestant Theology and Medieval Art” (Mexico City), “Can Religion Foment Human Rights?” (Bielefeld, Germany), and “Reforming Church for an Inclusive Community: Revisiting the Reformation” (Chennai, India). While the themes were specific for each audience and addressed their curiosities, I identified a common thread: a willingness to engage the novelty of the Reformation (and Luther’s key theological discoveries) with queries that occupy our current mindset. In wrapping up the Roverud Endowment Fellowship, I spent the first months of the summer and fall of 2018 polishing three presentations that became published essays (as book chapters). The first came under the rubric of women in the Reformation, comparing two key female figures – Katharina von Bora and Katharina Schütz Zell.1 The second was geared toward the role of compassion and advocacy on behalf of those who have been historically disen-
franchised, using the care for bodies as a catalyst for an ethic of care.2 The last one was a theological reflection on the nature of the church and its call to be a voice for those who are at the margins of society.3 These publications are in line with previous works in which I used Luther’s theology to reflect on the implications of public policies on human trafficking,4 related his two kingdoms theory to Michael Foucault’s writings to further conversation on citizenship,5 and connected Luther’s theology of the cross with current environmental crisis and climate change.6 This time also brought to a closure my tenure as a member of the international bilateral dialogue between Roman Catholics and Lutherans (formally known as the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity, appointed by the Lutheran World Federation and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity), on which I served from 2008-2018. Besides the publication in preparation for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation,7 a new document titled “Baptism and Growth in Communion” is forthcoming.
IMAGE COURTESY OF STIAS
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s it often happens in the academic world, a sabbatical is a time not only to start a new project but is also an opportunity to finish old ones. So I spent the first months of my year-long sabbatical, beginning in the fall of 2018, completing activities related to the Roverud Endowment Fellowship (2017-2019), with the project “Luther’s Theology in the Public Square.” The topic of the sabbatical proper was “Religious Pluralism, Hybrid Identities, and the Postcolonial Religious Other,” and this work was carried out through a research fellowship at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), in Stellenbosch, South Africa, from January-June 2019. Although it does not seem obvious, both projects are connected.
Wanda Deifelt (back row, third from right with scarf ) with her colleagues from the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study in South Africa in 2019
