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| John
J. Thatamanil Assistant Professor of Theology A.B. Washington University, St. Louis, MO M.Div. Boston University School of Theology Ph.D. Boston University john.j.thatamanil@vanderbilt.edu Curriculum Vitae |
 |
| John
J. Thatamanil teaches a wide variety of courses in the areas of comparative
theology, theologies of religious pluralism, Hindu-Christian dialogue,
Buddhist-Christian dialogue, the theology of Paul Tillich, process
theology, and Eastern Orthodox theology and spirituality. Tying together
these diverse interests is a basic commitment to a deeply metaphysical
form of philosophical theology which he takes to be essential for
any Christian theology that seeks to be in conversation with non-Christian
religious traditions. Professor Thatamanil seeks to revive in his
work a commitment to speculative reflection as found in the work of
Paul Tillich and especially Alfred North Whitehead. Specifically,
he is on the hunt for a viable “process Tillichianism.” Professor Thatamanil's first book is an exercise in constructive comparative theology. The Immanent Divine: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament. An East-West Conversation (Fortress Press, 2006) provides the foundation for a nondualist Christian theology worked out through a conversation between Paul Tillich and Sankara, the master teacher of the Hindu tradition of Advaita Vedanta. He is currently at work on his second book tentatively entitled, Religious Diversity After "Religion": Rethinking Theologies of Religious Pluralism (Fordham University Press). That book takes up the recent and extensive literature on the Western construction/invention of "religion" with the following questions in mind: If "religion" is a relatively recent invention of the modern West, then is the category applicable to non-Western cultures and traditions? Can we really divide the world up into a set of distinct and discrete world religions? If it is problematic to talk of "race relations" now that we know that race is a construct, a biological fiction, does it make sense to talk of interreligious dialogue if "religion" too is likewise a fiction? Does it still make sense to ask if the world's "religions" are paths up the same mountain or paths up different mountains? How should theology of religious pluralism (TRP) be reconfigured in light of these new questions and challenges? Professor Thatamanil is a past-president of the North American Paul Tillich Society (NAPTS), and he is Chair of the American Academy of Religion's Theological Education Steering Committee (TESC). Dr. Thatamanil is also committed to adult religious education and teaches and preaches at St. Augustine's Episcopal Chapel on the Vanderbilt campus. Prior to coming to Vanderbilt, Professor Thatamanil taught at Millsaps College in Jackson, MS. Op-Eds: "On Becoming A 'Real American'," The Washington Post, August 27, 2006. "Is God on Our Side? Or Is He on Theirs?" The LA Times, September 22, 2001 (.pdf) BACK TO TOP |
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