Analytic Theology at Fifteen: Growth, Change, and Trajectories of Inclusion

In 2009 Oliver Crisp and Michael Rea introduced the term “analytic theology” to the contemporary literary scene through their edited volume *Analytic Theology: New Essays in the Philosophy of Theology.* Over the intervening fifteen years, analytic theology has become the subject of multiple monograph series (e.g., with Oxford University Press, Cascade Books, and Routledge), has seen the launch of academic programs focused on it (e.g., at the University of St Andrews and University of York), and has become the focus of various annual academic workshops (e.g., at the University of Helsinki, Rutgers University, and Anderson University). However, as Michelle Panchuk and Rea have pointed out “analytic theology has a reputation for being inhospitable to careful and experientially informed exploration of the various philosophical-theological issues connected with culturally and theologically marginalized social identities.” (1) Another way to put this issue is to say, with Sarah Coakley, that there have been those in the burgeoning field who seem “hidebound by the idea that the great gift of analytic philosophy is to go around tidying up logical messes left by other people.” (2) Yet, in recent years this has begun to change. The flagship *Journal of Analytic Theology* has recently held space for selections of papers intended to help diversify the field through the inclusion of marginalized perspectives (e.g., feminist theology, philosophy, and hermeneutics) as well as exercises in non-Christian analytic theology (e.g., Jewish, Muslim, and Wiccan reflections). Panchuk and Rea’s own *Voices from the Edge: Centering Marginalized Perspectives in Analytic Theology* does much the same in the form of an edited volume containing examples of trauma-informed theology, Black theology, queer theology, disability theology, and more all in an analytic theological timbre. (3) Yet, despite this uptick in the diversity of perspectives being represented within the discipline, there has not been any sustained consideration of the growth, change, and present status of analytic theology vis-à-vis inclusivity in a reflective mode. Put differently, while there has been some meaningful growth and change, there has been comparatively little dialogue about the course of this growth and change (4) As such, this roundtable will play host to a conversation on analytic theology in its fifteenth year, especially as regards the widening of the field to include an increasing amount of voices and topics within its bounds. Four participants will be included, each of whom has – in their own respective ways – played a key role in analytic theology’s diversification. The first brings to the proverbial (and literal) table potent discourse on the nature of gender in Christian scripture while the second is on the forefront of Jewish analytic theological explorations. Similarly, the third is one of the leading advocates of liberation theology’s potential for contributing effectively to analytic theology and the fourth’s work to articulate an analytic disability theology has been on the field’s cutting edge. The discussion facilitated between these panelists will center on the topic of analytic theology’s roots, the growth and change which have ensued within it over the past fifteen years, and its current trajectories. It will, therefore, fill a gap in current assessments of analytic theology’s place within the milieu of contemporary theological research and open new doors for continued conversation in this area. References: 1. Michelle Panchuk and Michael Rea, “Introduction,” in *Voices from the Edge: Centering Marginalized Perspectives in Analytic Theology* (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020), 1. 2. Sarah Coakley, “Analytic Theology – Sarah Coakley,” interview by Robert Lawrence Kuhn, *Closer to Truth*, December 30, 2017, https://www.closertotruth.com/interviews/58376. 3. A recent survey of other examples similar to these can be found in: Aaron Brian Davis, “Analytic theology,” *Religion Compass* 17, no. 12 (December 2023): 7-8. 4. Perhaps the closest we have gotten so far are some aspects of: William Wood, *Analytic Theology and the Academic Study of Religion* (New York: Oxford University Press, 2021). However, as Sameer Yadav notes, “Wood fails to recognize how a monomaniacal fixation on knowledge, truth, and warrant might constitute a characteristic deformation of [analytic theology], or how the myopia resulting from that fixation might underlie the objections from history, mystery, and practice.” Sameer Yadav, “The characteristic damage of analytic theology: a response to William Wood,” *Religious Studies* FirstView (2023): 3. As such, Wood’s work does not quite achieve the aims of this roundtable.