A Virtual Conversation: Theological Inquiry Across the University

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Register to attend the Virtual Panel Discussion on April 24, 2025 at 8:00 pm, in which three experts chart a path for Faith in the University, moderated by Karen Marsh.

Featuring panelists: Felicia Wu-Song, cultural sociologist who studies the social effects of digital technologies on community and identity in contemporary life. Rev. Dr. Brandon Harris, Director of Partnerships and Business Development at Forum for Theological Exploration & John Kiess, associate professor of theology at Loyola University Maryland Moderated by Karen Marsh, Executive Dir., Theological Horizons & Charles Marsh, Commonwealth Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Project on Lived Theology at UVA

This is a companion event to the March 29 Scoper Lecture in Christian Theology with Dr. Charles Marsh which can be viewed here.

The Project on Lived Theology at the University of Virginia is a research initiative, whose mission is to study the social consequences of theological ideas for the sake of a more just and compassionate world.

On the Lived Theology Reading List: Climate, Catastrophe, and Faith: How Changes in Climate Drive Religious Upheaval

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Global Climate History Through a Religious Lens

Writing into our current age, which is marked by climate crisis and anxiety, Philip Jenkins reflects in Climate, Catastrophe, and Faith on the religiosity inherent to global warming and the historical markings on culture and religion as a result of major climate events. Examining Western religious incidents of the fourteenth through the eighteenth century, Jenkins draws connections to the coinciding climate changes of those periods; including the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age, to name a few. Jenkins argues that the results of rapidly depleted resources and unforgiving natural environments lead in part to drastic changes in religious practice and doctrine, from apocalyptic declarations, to persecution and violence, to beliefs still maintained across traditions today. Jenkins concludes with his belief that rising global alarm and ensuing climate migration will ultimately result in more tumultuous changes in religiosity.

Philip Jenkins is Distinguished Professor of History at Baylor University within the Institute for Studies in Religion, and previously taught at Penn State University. He is the author of thirty books, including The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia–and How It Died, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity, and most recently A Storm of Images: Iconoclasm and Religious Reformation in the Byzantine World.

Reviews and endorsements of the publication include:

“This masterpiece of historical scholarship should help policy makers and others transcend temporal myopia. Of special interest to students of climate, history, society, religion, and politics, this book can change the way one thinks about such matters.” 

-L. E. Sponsel, CHOICE

“Jenkins’s bold new argument may change the way we think about the history of religion, but more important, it could remind us that we can imagine a new and better way as we prepare for the consequences of this impending climate crisis.”

– Rt. Rev. Mark Van Koevering, author of The Living Church

“This timely and meticulously researched book makes an important contribution to the growing body of literature engaging religion and history with ecology and climate change.”

-Ruby Guyat, Times Higher Education

For more information on the publication, click here.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To sign up for the Lived Theology newsletter, click here.

Cast the First Stone Documentary Screening

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On Wednesday, April 23 at 6:30 pm, St. Paul’s Memorial Church at the University of Virginia will be screening the Cast the First Stone Documentary in the “TUF Study Space” at St. Paul’s — located through the side courtyard, near the chapel. 

Seventy-five inmates from Angola Prison and Louisiana Correctional Institution for Women come together to perform the largest prison production of The Passion Play ever. CAST THE FIRST STONE is a 93 minute documentary based on the most popular story in history as performed by men and women for whom it is perhaps most relevant. The film cuts between the daily lives of the inmates with scenes from the play that are performed throughout the prison. It is an intimate and searing portrait of redemption. The actors, whose own experience mimics the characters they are playing, help us experience these biblical characters in ways rarely portrayed. Leading the effort is prisoner, Gary Tyler, who in 1974 at age 16 was the youngest person in America on death row. With 40 years behind bars, four on death row and six more in solitary, his wisdom guides the ship and assures its success. The film is directed by multiple Emmy winning and two-time Oscar nominated director Jonathan Stack.

View the trailer here.

The Project on Lived Theology at the University of Virginia is a research initiative, whose mission is to study the social consequences of theological ideas for the sake of a more just and compassionate world.

Why Some Say Bonhoeffer has Become a Hero to Today’s White Christian Nationalists

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A new article by John Blake on CNN reflects on the theology of Bonhoeffer:

“While both the left and right have twisted Bonhoeffer’s views over the years, members of the far Christian right have taken that misappropriation to a dangerous new level, says Charles Marsh, author of ‘Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.’ They argue incorrectly that Bonhoeffer was never a pacifist and that he always supported certain types of political violence, Marsh says.

‘The Democrats have become the Nazis, and the faithful German anti-Nazi pastors have become Trump Republicans — that’s a tortured reading of history,’ Marsh says. ‘But it has been sold to many sectors of American Christian life as a meaningful reinterpretation of the Bonhoeffer story.’”

The Project on Lived Theology at the University of Virginia is a research initiative, whose mission is to study the social consequences of theological ideas for the sake of a more just and compassionate world.

“Martin Luther King, Jr – Pastor, Theologian, Christian Critic” with Rev. Dr. Nathan Walton

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On March 18, 2025, Rev. Dr. Nathan Walton joined the UVA Kingdom of God in America in to talk about the life and theological formation of Martin Luther King, Jr. This undergraduate class on religion and social movements explores the influence of theological ideas and religious commitments on social movements in America. 

Excerpt: “[King] inhabited a long tradition of theologically informed social engagement and an embodied faith embodied faith. You can see themes of social engagement in the sermons and speeches and you can see themes of embodiment and everything from physically marching and boycotting to hearing the musicality of the sermons.”

Nathan Walton is  Co-Lead Pastor at East End Fellowship in Richmond, Virginia.  He most recently served as Executive Director of Abundant Life Ministries, a community development nonprofit in Charlottesville. Nathan holds a Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School and both a B.A. and Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of Virginia.

Listen to the lecture here

The Project on Lived Theology at the University of Virginia is a research initiative, whose mission is to study the social consequences of theological ideas for the sake of a more just and compassionate world.

9 Illuminating Memoirs by UVA Alumni

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By Sam Grossman

With elements of traditional memoir, biography and lyric essay, these nonfiction works chronicle some of the diverse experiences of the UVA alumni community.

In his newest book, UVA religious studies professor Charles Marsh explores the ways in which his Christian upbringing affected his mental health. For years he suffered from panic attacks and depression, but “we did not do therapy—my family, my particular evangelical coterie,” he writes. With vulnerability and humor, Marsh explains how he finally sought mental health treatment. Through years of Freudian psychoanalysis, he slowly sheds the secrecy and shame he was “primed for,” becoming “freer, and somehow more unified.” In the end, Marsh remains devoted to Christianity, with the understanding that it’s “much larger and more encompassing than the churches of my childhood.”

See the full article here.

The Project on Lived Theology at the University of Virginia is a research initiative, whose mission is to study the social consequences of theological ideas for the sake of a more just and compassionate world.

On the Lived Theology Reading List: Journey Toward Justice: Personal Encounters in the Global South

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Biblical Justice in the Global South

Nicholas Wolterstorff combines his extensive philosophical training with his vast experience of South Africa, the Middle East, and Honduras to present a theology of justice in Journey Toward Justice: Personal Encounters in the Global South. Wolterstorff seeks to elevate marginalized voices of the Global South, centering his ethical framework around the principle of shalom, or flourishing. Journey Toward Justice examines principles of human rights down to their most basic components, and at the same time tells the deeply important stories of people who have had their rights stripped away, ultimately making a case for biblical justice’s use in the world. Nuanced, hopeful, and thoughtfully-constructed, Wolterstorff uses his encounters with global persecution to imagine a liberative and salvific future for the all the world’s oppressed.

Nicholas Wolterstorff is a senior fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, and is also a Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology at Yale University. He has authored several books, including Four (and a half) Dialogues on Homosexuality and the Bible (with Donald J. Zeyl) and Call for Justice: From Practice to Theory and Back (with Kurt Ver Beek), and Lament for a Son.

Reviews and endorsements of the publication include:

“Drawing on his experience of being confronted by those who have suffered injustice, Wolterstorff helps us understand why and how such experiences should make a difference for how justice is understood. His reflections on the relations of beauty, hope, and justice are profound and moving.” 

-Stanley Hauerwas, Duke Divinity School, author of With the Grain of the Universe and Hannah’s Child

“I have been so deeply grateful, over many years, for the gift of rigorous scholarship Dr. Wolterstorff has brought to the body of Christ. Now my gratitude expands all the more with his newest gift: his work on biblical justice made accessible for even wider audiences and, most of all, the sharing of his personal journey. This is a book that I will use in many settings for years to come.”

– Bethany H. Hoang, Director of the IJM Institute for Biblical Justice

“Wolterstorff’s Journey toward Justice is far more than his personal story of how his encounters with suffering people shaped his thinking (and life) around an active concern for justice. The book combines this story with deep and clear thinking, centered in the biblical revelation, about how Christians should think about justice and about the implications of a biblical concern for justice in the contemporary world.”

– C. Stephen Evans, Baylor University

For more information on the publication, click here.

For more of “On the Lived Theology Reading List,” click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyReads. To sign up for the Lived Theology newsletter, click here.

Evangelical Anxiety Now Available in Paperback Edition

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In this riveting spiritual memoir, Charles Marsh tells the story of his struggles with mental illness, explores the void between the Christian faith and scientific treatment, and forges a path toward reconciling these divergent worlds.

For years, Charles Marsh suffered panic attacks and debilitating anxiety. As an Evangelical Christian, he was taught to trust in the power of God and His will. While his Christian community resisted therapy and personal introspection, Marsh eventually knew he needed help. To alleviate his suffering, he made the bold decision to seek medical treatment and underwent years of psychoanalysis. 

In this riveting spiritual memoir, Marsh tells the story of his struggle to find peace and the dramatic, inspiring transformation that redefined his life and his faith. He examines the tensions between faith and science and reflects on how his own experiences offer hope for bridging the gap between the two. Honest and revealing, Marsh traces the roots of shame, examines Christian notions of sex, faith, and mental illness and their genesis, and chronicles how he redefined his beliefs and rebuilt his relationship with his community. 

A poignant and vital story of deep soul work, Evangelical Anxiety helps us look beyond the stigma that leaves too many people in pain and offers people of faith a way forward to find the help they need while remaining true to their beliefs. 

Paperback edition available here or at your favorite reseller

“White Too Long” with Robert P. Jones

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On December 3, 2024, Robert P. Jones joined the UVA graduate seminar Theologies of Resistance and Reconciliation by Zoom to talk about his research on the theological and historical sources of white supremacy in the United States.

Dr. Robert P. Jones is the president and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute, a nonprofit nonpartisan organization dedicated to conducting independent research and driving conversations at the intersection of religion, culture, and politics. He is a frequent on-air guest on television shows, and his editorials and essays have been published in such places as The Atlantic, Religion News Services, Time Magazine, and other outlets. He’s frequently featured in major news media, such as CNN, MSNBC, NPR, The New York Times, and the Washington Post.

Dr. Jones is also a New York Times bestselling author. His most recent book is The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy, and the Path to Shared American Future. His book The End of White Christian America won the 2019 Grawemeyer award, which is given every year to the most influential book written in religion in North America, and this is quite an extraordinary honor. His talk today is based on an earlier book called White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity.

Watch the event here

Listen to the event here

The Project on Lived Theology at the University of Virginia is a research initiative, whose mission is to study the social consequences of theological ideas for the sake of a more just and compassionate world.

Remembering Rev. Dr. Charles Robert Marsh

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CELEBRATION OF LIFE:

2:00 PM EST, MONDAY, JANUARY 13

WATCH HERE

The Rev. Dr. Charles Robert Marsh, a Southern Baptist minister who served as senior pastor at Atlanta’s Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church from 1978 to 1993 died on Christmas Eve while in hospice care at Lenbrook in Atlanta, Georgia. Marsh, a passionate teacher of the Bible, and a local religious leader in the desegregation of public schools in the South, was 92-years old.

The full obituary is available here.