Theology, Religion, Culture. Reflections on Systematic Theology following Paul Tillich

Abstract

Following Paul Tillich, the article sketches the basic lines of a systematic theology of modern culture in the age of religious pluralism. It begins with a brief reconstruction of the systematic foundations of Tillich’s theory of culture from the 1919 draft Rechtfertigung und Zweifel. Then, the systematic problems of Tillich’s theology of culture, which primarily concern his concept of religion, are discussed. In order to resolve these difficulties, it is proposed to understand religion as a self-referential, self-aware, and in itself structured communication event, as well as to dispense with a general concept of religion, as Tillich advocates it. On this basis, the concluding third section of the paper elaborates basic features of a systematic theology of culture which takes up Tillich’s intention, giving it not only a different justification, but also a different direction. In addition to the text of the article, we reproduce some reactions and questions to the lecturer.