Dr Christopher Brittain

Dr Christopher Brittain The University of Aberdeen School of Divinity, History & Philosophy Senior Lecturer work +44 (0)1224 272374 work fax +44 (0) 1224 273 750 pref c.brittain@abdn.ac.uk pref Office: KCS 5, King's College Postal Address: Kings College Quad School of Divinity History and Philosophy University of Aberdeen Aberdeen AB24 3UB United Kingdom

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Biography

Prior to joining the staff in Aberdeen in 2007, I served as Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Canada. My doctoral studies at the University of Toronto focused on social theory and ethics, along with philosophy of religion, and theologies of liberation. 

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Research Interests

My primary research interest is in contemporary Christianity, which I explore from a variety of differing perspectives and concerns.

At the theoretical level, I am interested in the ongoing debates within Christian theology over how Christian churches relate externally to the communities outside them—both in their secular and multi-faith varieties. I approach this question by analysing the theological writing of key contemporary theologians who wrestle with these issues (e.g. John Milbank, Latin American liberation theology, William Cavanaugh), as well as influential non-Christian theorists on the same general concerns (e.g. Talal Asad, William Connolly, Seyla Benhabib, Jeffrey Stout). I have published critical articles on Milbank and Asad, and continue to research the concepts of "secularism" and "political theology" in depth.

At the sociological level, I study how the tensions inherent to contemporary social and political life impact on the internal dynamics of Christian communities. This element of my research activity is intent on analysing the differing ways in which Christian communities respond to the challenges emerging within their specific contexts, as well as to the ways in which these same communities react to, or cope with, the pressures of being shaped by their environment. In pursuit of such questions, I have published an article analysing theological debates over homosexuality in the Anglican Communion ("Confession Obsession"), and I am now engaged in a series of field research projects to deepen my analysis of the experience of contemporary Anglican congregations and individuals. I have written two articles for publication on this research with a sociologist in Aberdeen (Dr. Andrew McKinnon) and have two individual articles planned for 2011. Dr. McKinnon and I intend to begin work on a monograph on the dispute in the Anglican Communion in the near future.

At the cultural level, I am interested in the complicated dynamics involved in Christian responses to human tragedy and historical traumas (and those of other religious groups more generally). Numerous contemporary social theorists and theologians are alert to the fact that, in a context shaped by globalization and political terrorism, religion as a social and political phenomenon is often interwoven with nationalism, ideology, and violence. These issues have historically had a major impact and influence on Christian thought and practice. I recently completed a monograph entitled, Religion at Ground Zero, which explores the impact of historical trauma on Christian thought. It analyzes reactions to disasters that range from the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, the First World War, the Holocaust, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the Haitian earthquake of 2010.

My methodological approach is informed by the early writings of the "Frankfurt School," particularly those of Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer. Their attempt to develop an interdisciplinary form of social theory — which brings together social scientific empirical research (qualitative and quantitative), philosophy, psychology, and moral engagement with current social problems — continues to represent a rich perspective with which to approach the study of contemporary Christianity. For this reason, I have published work on a neglected area in the scholarly literature on the thought of the Frankfurt School – their interest in religion. This has taken the form of some individual articles, and now a monograph: Adorno and Theology.

The three inter-related approaches to contemporary Christianity (theoretical, sociological, cultural) enable me to explore some deep and influential dynamics within Christianity in particular, and religion more generally.

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Current Research

I have published Adorno and Theology (T&T Clark 2010)and continue to work on articles analyzing the writings of the early Frankfurt School on religion and theology. This was followed by Religion at Ground Zero: Theological Responses to Times of Crises (Continuum, 2011). The book analyzes the impact of trauma on theological reflection, as well as the way in which politics and ideology are interwoven with religion during differing historical crises, including World War One, the Holocaust, September 11, 2001, and recent disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the Asian Pacific Tsunami.

I am involved in multi-phased joint research project with Andrew McKinnon entitled "The Social Logic of Religious Conflict: Homosexuality and the Crisis in the Anglican Communion." This work addresses the question of why there has been an ever-intensifying conflict in the global Anglican Church over the past several years, a conflict that has played itself out both within and between Provinces of the Communion. Although the conflict has often been presented (particularly in the press) as a conflict over sexuality, our preliminary investigations have suggested that while homosexuality is the focus of the conflict, it is in some respect, to use a phrase used by some of the interview subjects in our pilot study,  a 'presenting symptom' for other issues and interests.

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Research Grants

"British Perspectives on the Crisis in the Anglican Communion," funded by the College of Arts and Social Science, University of Aberdeen (2008).

"Congregational Identity in the Wake of Denominational Crisis" funded by the Engaged Scholars Fellowship Programme (2009-10)

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External Responsibilities

I am a member of the editorial board of the book series Studies in Critical Research on Religion (Brill), and of the journal Critical Research on Religion (Sage).

http://www.criticaltheoryofreligion.org/

http://www.sagepub.com/journals/Journal202153

http://www.brill.com/publications/studies-critical-research-religion

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Teaching Responsibilities

Religion at Ground Zero  (DR1540)
Justice and Reconciliation  (DR4557)
Playing God? Christian Ethics, Human Agency and Natural Law  (DR3085)
Religion, Secularism and Public Life  (DR4558)
Religion at the Movies (RS3504)
What does it Mean to be Human? (DR1045)

The Bible in Ministry  (DR5069/5669)

Ecclesiology and Ministry in the Contemporary Church (DMin)

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Postgraduate Supervision

I am currently supervising five PhD students covering a wide range of topics, including Christianity and the Haitian Earthquake of 2010, Restorative Justice, Human Rights and Multiculuralism, Congregational Identity in New Pentecostalism, and the Contextual Theology of African American slaves.

I am particularly interested in being involved in projects in the following areas:

Political and Public Theology

Christian Social and Sexual Ethics

Religion & Disaster

Anglican Theology

Continental Philosophy of Religion

Congregational Studies & Ecclesiology

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Selected Publications

Books 

Religion at Ground Zero: Theological Responses to Times of Crisis (Continuum, 2011) 

Adorno and Theology (T&T Clark, 2010)

The Weight of Objectivity: Critical Social Theory and Theology (LAP Lambert, 2010)

Edited Books 

(with Francesca Murphy)  Theology. Humanities. University: Initium Sapientiae Timor Dominum (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books/Wipf & Stock, 2011).

 

Journal Articles

On the Demonization and Fetishization of Choice in Christian Sexual Ethics, Studies In Christian Ethics 27.2 (forthcoming 2014).

The Frankfurt School on Religion, Religion Compass 6.3 (2012), 204-212.

Bourdieu, Capital and Conflict in a Religious Field: The Case of the Anglican Communion?, Journal of Contemporary Religion vol 26.3 (2011) (with Andrew McKinnon & Marta Trzebiatowska), 355-370. 

Homosexuality and the Construction of Anglican Orthodoxy: The Symbolic Politics of the Anglican Communion, Sociology of Religion 72.3 (Autumn 2011), pp. 351-373 (with Andrew McKinnon).

Political Theology at a Standstill: Messianism in Adorno and Agamben, Thesis Eleven 102.1 (August 2010), 39-56. 

Confession Obsession: Cored Doctrine and the Anxieties of Anglican Theology, Anglican Theological Review vol. 90.4 (2008), 777-799.

Can a Theology Student be an Evil Genius? on the concept of habitus in theological Education, Scottish Journal of Theology, vol 60.4 (2007), 426-440. (* reprinted in Toronto Journal of Theology in 2009).

The Secular as a Tragic Category: On Talal Asad, Religion and Representation, Method and Theory in the Study of Religion, vol 17.2 (2005), 149-165.

Social Theory and the Premise of all Criticism: Max Horkheimer on Religion, Critical Sociology 31.2 (Spring 2005), 153-168.

Chapters in Books

Between Necessity and Possibility: Kierkegaard and the abilities and disabilities of the Subject. In: Disability in the Christian Tradition, eds. Brian Brock and John Swinton (Eerdmans 2012), 286-320.

Ethnography as Ecclesial Attentiveness and Critical Reflexivity: fieldwork and the dispute over homosexuality in The Episcopal Church. In: Church and Culture: A Reader. Studies in Ecclesiology and Ethnography, Vol. 2, ed. Christian Scharen (Eerdmans, 2012), 114-137.

Against Eschatological Overdetermination: on Theology and Sociology. In: Theology. Humanities. University: Inititium Sapientiae Timor Dominum, eds,. Christopher Brittain & Francesca Murphy (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books/Wipf & Stock, 2011),150-172.

Initium Sapientiae Timor Alius and the Constituents of the University. In: Theology. Humanities. University: Inititium Sapientiae Timor Dominum, Christopher Brittain & Francesca Murphy (eds) (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books/Wipf & Stock, 2011), 213-228.

From A Beautiful Mind to the Beautiful Soul: Rational Choice, Religion, and Adorno. In: Marx, Critical Theory, and Religion,ed. Warren Goldstein (Leiden, Boston: Brill Publishers, 2006), 151-177.

Subjective Destitution and the Postmodern Saint: A Reply to Slavoj Zizek?s interpretation of Breaking the Waves. In: Hybrid Spaces: Theory, Culture, Economy, Johannes Angermueller, Katharina Bunzmann, Christina Rauch (eds). (New York: Transaction/ Hamburg: LIT, 2000), 137-148. 

Miming the Crucifixion: Irigaray's Mimicry and the Power of Religious Language. In: PostModerne Diskurse zwischen Sprache und Macht, Johannes Angermueller &Martin Nonhoff (eds). (Hamburg: Argument Verlag, 1999), 90-100.

 

 

Review Essays

Biopolitics in the Messianic Light: On Giorgio Agamben, Radical Philosophy Review, vol. 10.2 (2007), 179-191.

A Messiah for Marxism? Slavoj Zizek's The Fragile Absolute?, Dialogue and Review Essay (with Kenneth G. MacKendrick). Radical Philosophy Review, vol. 6.1(2003), 45-52.

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