As a teenager in south Alabama, Lewis had heard a radio broadcast of Martin Luther King’s sermon, “St. Paul’s Address to American Christians,” and was struck by the contrast between the Pike County preachers of his childhood, who spoke of … Read More

The end of the Civil War spurred many important beginnings, most notably the freedom of enslaved individuals and the founding of the black social gospel. In The New Abolition, author Gary Dorrien traces the tradition from its emergence in the nineteenth century to its champion in the twentieth century, W. E. B. Du Bois. Read More

At the Project this year, we want to celebrate Epiphany by imagining some gift-giving of our own. Read More

The Project on Lived Theology is now accepting applications for the 2016 Summer Internship in Lived Theology. Read More

Religion was largely ingrained into the identity and everyday existence of the nineteenth-century American woman, shaping the literature female authors produced. Nineteenth-Century American Women Write Religion examines this vast collection of fiction, political writings, poetry, and memoirs to explore the diversity of religious discourse of the time as told by authors, activists, and faith believers. Read More

It is our conviction that the patterns and practices of religious communities offer rich and generative material for theological inquiry and that, properly interpreted, the lived experiences of faith are communicative not only of a religious community’s collective self-understanding but of modes of divine presence as well. Bridging the gap between academia and the everyday, the Project further endeavors to demonstrate the importance of theological ideas in the public conversation about civic responsibility and social progress.

Founder and director Charles Marsh recently discussed these beginnings, influences, and goals of the Project with UVA Today. Read More

While the late 1800s brought a period of tremendous economic growth to the United States, this Gilded Age also revealed the extreme poverty and inequality suffered by the working class. In Union Made, author Heath W. Carter credits the beginnings of a new discipline– American Social Christianity– to these common laborers rather than the more often credited middle-class spiritual leaders of the day. Read More

Burdens of war extend far beyond the battlefield as civilian injury and death continue to make up an increasing proportion of total casualties. In his current book project, John Kiess focuses on civilian vulnerability in contemporary war through case studies on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and beyond. Read More

Mental illness has always comprised a fundamental component of health, although the overwhelming majority of historical evidence shows little acceptance of and care for affected individuals. In Madness, Heather Vacek follows this trend in the American Protestant church’s response to mental illness through the last three centuries. Read More

On Tuesday, March 14, 2017, Firmin DeBrabander will deliver two guest presentations at the University of Virginia on the “Christian” critique of the gun movement based on the Catholic social teachings. DeBrabander will lead a class discussion and book signing at 2:00pm, followed by a public seminar with interested students and other area practitioners at 5:00pm. Read More