Future Directions of Hispanic Theology
Peter J. CasarellaDuke Divinity School
Michelle Gonzalez MaldonadoUniversity of Scranton
Horacio VelaUniversity of the Incarnate Word
Free and open to the public. This event will be held online through Zoom (registration required) and live-streamed to YouTube. This event is part of a webinar series on Hispanic Theology. This event and series is made possible by a generous grant from the Our Sunday Visitor Institute.
Where do we go from here? Concluding our spring Hispanic Theology Series, Professor Peter Casarella and Dean Michelle Maldonado will discuss the current landscape of Hispanic Theology, considering the most pressing needs and most promising opportunities in the field. Join us for this lively conversation, moderated by Professor Horacio Vela (University of the Incarnate Word).
Spring 2021 Hispanic Theology Series
In the last half century, the demographics of Catholicism in America has shifted dramatically as Latino Catholic communities continue to grow. Today, nearly 50 percent of American Catholics are Latino. What are the trends and currents of Hispanic theology in the US? How does it draw from the deep wells of polyglot Catholic Intellectual tradition and from the experience of Catholics on the ground? How is Hispanic theology a resource today not only for Latino communities, but also the broader Church?
Join Tuesdays this Spring as the Lumen Christi Institute presents some of the top Latino/a scholars in the United States for an introduction to Hispanic Theology.
This series and event is made possible by a generous grant from the Our Sunday Visitor Institute and cosponsored by ACHTUS: The Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the US , La Comunidad of Hispanic Scholars of Religion, Corazón Puro, the Hispanic Theological Initiative, Saint Benedict Institute, the Nova Forum, Calvert House Catholic Ministry, Dominican University Ministry Program, the Ecclesia in America Network, the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage, the Óscar Romero Scholars Program at Catholic Theological Union, Iskali, Commonweal Magazine, and America Media.
Peter J. Casarella is Professor of Theology at Duke Divinity School. He received his PhD in Religious Studies at Yale University. Casarella previously served as professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Notre Dame and as director of the Latin American North American Church Concerns (LANACC) project in the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Casarella has served as president of The American Cusanus Society, The Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians in the U.S. (ACHTUS), and the Academy of Catholic Theologians (ACT). He is currently serving a second five-year term on the International Roman Catholic-Baptist World Alliance Ecumenical Dialogue and served also on the Roman Catholic-World Communion of Reformed Churches Dialogue. He has authored or edited several books, including: Cuerpo de Cristo: The Hispanic Presence in the U.S. Catholic Church (1998), A World for All? Global Civil Society in Political Theory and Trinitarian Theology (2011), and most recently, Word as Bread: Language and Theology in Nicholas of Cusa (2017)
Michelle Gonzalez Maldonado is Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Scranton. She received her Ph.D. in Systematic and Philosophical Theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Dr. Maldonado’s areas of specialization include Latino/a and Latin American theology; Afro-Caribbean and Latino/a studies; U.S. minority, Third World and feminist theologies; and constructive and cultural theologies. Among her many publications are Sor Juana: Beauty and Justice in the Americas (Orbis Books, 2003), Afro-Cuban Theology: Religion, Race, Culture and Identity (University Press of Florida, 2006), Caribbean Religious History (co-authored with Ennis Edmonds, NYU Press, 2010), and A Critical Introduction to Religion in the Americas: Bridging the Liberation Theology and Religious Studies Divide (NYU Press, 2014).
Horacio Vela III is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of the Incarnate Word, a Catholic Hispanic-Serving institution in San Antonio. Born and raised in the border town of Laredo, Texas, he received a Ph.D. in Theology (Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity) from the University of Notre Dame. His research interests include ancient Judaism, the New Testament and early Christian literature, and the roles of teachers and texts in the Greco-Roman world. He also has research and teaching interests in Latinx theologies and religions, minoritized biblical interpretation, Indigenous Studies, and the Virgin of Guadalupe tradition. Dr. Vela was a doctoral fellow of the Hispanic Theological Initiative, and he currently serves as a board member at large of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS).
