Margrethe Birkler

Theology can remain socially relevant

Symbolic theology 

Margrethe Kamille Birkler’s research has focussed on how the symbolic theology of German-American Paul Tillich can help theology remain relevant.

In her PhD project, Margrethe Kamille Birkler studied the authorship and texts of Paul Tillich (1886-1965) focussing on a specific synergy within his texts. She believes this largely overlooked synergy is vital to understanding Tillich. It not only affects his symbolic language, but may also be used to revitalise theology today. “Tillich believed that theology should help answer questions of relevance to society. The religious language should continue to change and be meaningful,” Margrethe Kamille Birkler explains. When she visited the Tillich Collection at Harvard University in Boston as a bachelor student, Margrethe Kamille Birkler realised that two main groups of Tillich scholars have been wrong. To understand Tillich, our focus should not be on the essential or existential aspects of his thinking. Tillich himself argued that the divine and human are mutually dependent. According to Margrethe Kamille Birkler, this synergy is useful for creating new connections between Tillich and contemporary theology. “If theology is going to remain relevant, we need to also consider e.g. feminist theology, black theology and climate theology. This way, the religious language can change without becoming superficial. Symbols should be allowed to disappear and emerge; otherwise, they lose their significance,” Margrethe Kamille Birkler argues. Her research has attracted attention, not least because she has presented her ideas in books and talks. She has applied for funding for a postdoc project.