The American Appropriation of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Legacy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8201651 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Joel Looper (Baylor Interdisciplinary Core, Baylor University , 701 North 16th St. Waco, Texas 76707 , USA, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 90 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 413-430 |
| Publication date | 2022-10-21 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of the American Academy of Religion (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7189 • E-ISSN: 1477-4585 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/jaarel/lfac026 |
| OpenAlex | W4225863275 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 7 |
In recent years, American journalists and academics have appropriated the legacy of German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer to further their political and social agendas. Rather than leveraging Bonhoeffer’s name to buttress a particular political position, this article contrasts the fundamental political assumptions we find in Bonhoeffer’s writings with those of the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, then demonstrates that the sensibilities of the key Americans appropriating Bonhoeffer’s legacy are fundamentally Niebuhrian. In this way, Bonhoeffer’s political commitments are shown to be quite different than those of his American admirers. The article concludes with the claim that Bonhoeffer should be read today as a voice from outside contemporary American political discussions, but one that can be relevant nonetheless
Appropriation · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · German · Linguistics · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Theology · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Karl Barth and Christian Theology · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies · Theological Perspectives and Practices
| Highly cited | No |
|---|