Theological Humanism Panel (Verna Ehrert and Sage Elwell)

Theological Humanism and the Challenge of Bad Religion

In keeping with the conference theme of dis-ruption, the Theological Humanism panel issues the following call for papers:

Theological Humanism has long served as a site for reflection on the dignity of human life, the moral claims of transcendence, and the cultivation of meaning amidst human fragility. But what does it mean to affirm theological humanism in a time when religious language is increasingly weaponized – stripped of depth, empathy, and transcendence – and used as a tool of dehumanization?

Across the globe, fundamentalist rhetoric, authoritarian populisms, and faith-based ideologies that distort the moral and ontological vision of religion at its best are resurgent. Religious language, once a source of healing and hope, is now regularly deployed to justify xenophobia, deny bodily autonomy, erode pluralism, and fortify political agendas that hollow out the very concept of the human. This is Bad Religion, and it thrives on the spectacle of moral certainty and the circulation of slogans – amplified through digital/social media – where theology is reduced to reactionary impulses and transcendent claims are collapsed into jingoistic fervor. In this environment, empathy is framed as weakness, and sacred texts are wielded like weapons.

This CfP invites papers that explore how theological humanism, or humanistic thought attuned to the transcendent, might resist this corrosion – this bad religion. How might theological frameworks reassert the richness of religious language beyond its use as a cultural cudgel? What resources do theology, philosophy, art, and literature offer in countering hypertheistic tendencies that exalt group identity at the expense of the stranger? How might theological humanism help us unmask the rhetorical strategies by which religion is deployed against the marginalized?

We especially welcome work that addresses:

·       The misuse of theological language in shaping exclusionary or anti-human policies

·       The global circulation of bad religion via social media (including AI) and its impact on culture

·       The role of theological humanism in resisting religious nationalism and fundamentalism

·       Theological responses to the technologization of belief and the rise of hypertheism

·       Humanistic approaches to recovering religious meaning in the face of sloganism

·       Art, ritual, or storytelling as sites of resistance and rehumanization

Papers from all disciplines are welcome. We are particularly interested in interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, experimental, and praxis-based approaches. Let us imagine together how theological humanism might not only critique but also renew the moral imagination of our time.

Please submit proposals/abstracts of 250–300 words to Dr. Verna Ehret (Mercyhurst University) at vehret@mercyhurst.edu and Dr. Sage Elwell (Texas Christian University) at sage.elwell@tcu.edu no later than 31st January, 2026.