What is the Future of Theological Aesthetics?

In response to the 2026 Presidential theme, this roundtable session will consider the future of theological aesthetics and its place in responding to the uncertainties that theologians face today. Theologians rely on aesthetics to shape the future by imagining, or reimaging, the past, making theological aesthetics integral to the practice of theology more generally; however, what this future will look like depends on how theologians navigate the fact that aesthetics can be used in the service of both oppression and liberation. This panel seeks to bring these issues to light as a way to consider the future of theological aesthetics in relation to its own origins, and what the effects will be for theology more generally as it seeks to aesthetically navigate its origins in relation to the world in which it is currently practices. The discussion will provide a clearer understanding of the place of aesthetics in theological discourse.