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Protestant Theology

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Dietrich Bonhoeffer Research Center for Public Theology (DBFÖT)

About the research center

Founded in 2008, the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Research Center for Public Theology pursues public theology in the tradition of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who as a theologian took a critical and constructive stance on the public issues and abysses of his time.

The research center aims to take up Bonhoeffer's theological and ecclesiastical engagement in the public sphere and to develop his ideas further against the backdrop of current challenges.

As a member of the Global Network for Public Theology (GNPT), founded in 2007, Bamberg's Public Theology is involved in a wide variety of research contexts both nationally and internationally.

Statement by the GNPT

Due to political developments in the US, the Global Network for Public Theology conference planned for fall 2025 cannot take place as planned in Pasadena, Los Angeles. Instead, the conference has been moved to an online-only format, and the regional representatives of the Global Network for Public Theology board have issued this public statement: Statement on the Current US Administration

Evangelicalism – politics – society in the USA

Fascinating lecture by Prof. Dr. Marcia Pally on June 24, 2025

Conference “home” 2024 (organized by the Universities of Bamberg and Pretoria): Intergenerational living, the German longing for a home in the countryside, and the unobstructed view of plastic dwellings

Public Remembrance. Research workshop on the topic of “Memory and Remembrance in Germany and South Africa” (2024).

Size and the good life: Tiny houses, social housing and the role of social imaginaries  (Prof. Dr. Thomas Wabel, 2024)

What is public theology?

Fundamentally, public theology can be understood as the reflection on the public significance of Christian orientations in contemporary societies.

Public theology looks beyond the narrow German context.

On the one hand, this includes the study of traditional Christian texts. This study is based on the fundamental conviction that these texts can offer relevant orientations and interpretations today: the Golden Rule, the double commandment of love, or, for example, the parable of the workers in the vineyard are relevant to contemporary questions such as social justice.

On the other hand, public theology also involves looking at contemporary societies and their cultures of communication: How do Christian orientations become relevant here? How can they become public? How can they be made understandable in a multi-religious context? The Bamberg research is distinguished by its focus on the non-argumentative and more subtle “embodiments” of religion in the public sphere.

Our research focus

"home" (since 2024)

 

In countries worldwide, housing has become a challenge for the population, for politics and policies, for welfare organisations, and for civil society. The worldwide housing crisis has repercussions in many areas of societal life; and these are reflected in challenges for a number of academic disciplines.

Theologically, religious traditions play a role for society and for the concept of home. Church buildings can serve as a heterotopia in a stressful, sometimes hostile environment. Congregations can help to establish a community network. Theological social ethics consider questions of justice in the context of housing (justice of access, intergenerational justice).

Space, place, positionality. Theological perspectives on conditions of social contexts of life (since 2019)


From what positions and places are people listening, speaking, and reflecting? In what contexts does the Christian religion exist?

Place as the culture and society in which religions are situated, place as the position from which a theologian speaks, place as a biographical contingency that shapes people's lives.

In addition, the contribution of Christian ethics to society must be considered—to the shaping of the social, cultural, and religious space to which it belongs.

Conference in Bamberg - Place and Space: Theological Perspectives on Living in the World (2019)

Public theology and feelings (since 2017)

 

The interplay between discursive and affective dimensions holds potential and responsibility for Christian theology in a free society.

What role do emotions play in the formation and communication of moral and political convictions? What is the relationship between affective experience and rational discourse?

Between discourse and affect—political judgment formation from a theological perspective