In Biblical Porn, author Jessica Johnson delves into the storied history of the Mars Hill Church. A small bible study founded by Mark Driscoll in 1996, it quickly rose to prominence and became a megachurch with 15 total locations. The church closed its doors in 2014 after being beset by scandal, with former attendees testifying to spiritual abuse, emotional manipulation, and financial exploitation. Read More

As a research fellow for the Project on Lived Theology, Heather Warren plans to explore this question by focusing on the southern-centered, Atlanta-based Protestant Hour radio show. Read More

Life After Privacy, by Firmin DeBrabander, sets out to discuss privacy during the digital age in a new and innovative way. It is no secret that privacy is in jeopardy, and we, the digital citizens, are its principal threat, willingly surrendering it to gain access to new technology, and granting the government and corporations immense power over us. But what if we can protect our freedom without privacy? Read More

In his most recent book, That All Shall Be Saved, David Bentley Hart makes the case that nearly two millennia of dogmatic tradition have misled readers on the crucial matter of universal salvation. Read More

Jesus and John Wayne, by Kristin Kobes Du Mez, is an in-depth look into why white evangelicals overwhelming voted for Donald Trump in 2016, despite his obvious lack of knowledge of the Christian faith. In a comprehensive history of the evangelical movement in America, Du Mez challenges the commonly held assumption that the “moral majority” backed Trump for purely pragmatic reasons, and reveals that he in fact represents the fulfillment, rather than the betrayal, of white evangelicals’ most deeply held values. Read More

The Project on Lived Theology is exploring how the civil rights movement provides us with lessons from history as we face the seemingly insurmountable challenges of today, from living during a pandemic to coming to terms with white supremacy and racial injustice. Here is just a sample of some of the video, audio, and text found on our website, livedtheology.org. Read More

For more information, please visit https://www.theologicalhorizons.org/goodwin-prize. We are deeply encouraged to see young scholars of such promise and commitment, and we offer our warm congratulations to all who participated in this year’s competition.
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On September 16, Nathan Walton spoke as part of “The Civil Rights Movement in Theological and Religious Perspective,” a UVA undergraduate seminar taught by Charles Marsh, director of The Project on Lived Theology and a professor of religious studies at UVA. Walton placed Martin Luther King, Jr. within the history of the black church and showed how the church shaped King’s theological outlook and social engagement. Walton then examined how King was a byproduct of the black church and other social traditions. Read More

Freedom Faith, by Courtney Pace, examines the life and philosophy of Rev. Dr. Prathia Laura Ann Hall, an undersung leader in both the civil rights movement and African American theology. Pace chooses to focus mainly on her her civil rights activism, her teaching career, and her ministry as a womanist preacher, all while examining the most central concept of Hall’s theology: Freedom Faith, the belief that God created humans to be free and assists and equips those who work for freedom. Read More

Thomas Merton had many roles he filled in his lifetime — monk, writer, social activist — but one of his main passions was explorations of interfaith understanding. He explored different religions and their relation to the human experience, as well as examining some of the Catholic traditions he had learned about in his studies. A Course in Desert Spirituality, edited by Jon Sweeney, is a collection of some of Merton’s lectures which showcase his teachings and personal thoughts about the concept of desert spirituality. Read More