Dangerous Ecumenism for a Divided World
UPDATE
Dear friends,
It is with some disappointment but after substantial deliberation that the NAAE Programs Committee has decided to move our 2021 annual conference online, where we will meet over the course of one day (Thursday, November 18th) instead of the original two in San Antonio, TX. With many of our members experiencing difficulties in arranging travel from Canada, and others caring for at-risk and unvaccinated family members, we are convinced that the benefits of gathering in person are not worth the risk of doing so in a COVID hot spot.
We are just as enthusiastic, however, about the conversation that will still be hosted as part of our timely and forward-looking symposium on the theme of Dangerous Ecumenism for a Divided World. Publicity and registration will be available soon, including the names of our presenters and a full schedule for November 18th.
As we recognize the significant economic costs and budget reductions of the past year, and in respect of the lower overhead of an online gathering, we have decided to waive conference fees for NAAE members (registration for nonmembers will also be minimal, at $25). Nonmembers who wish to begin or renew an NAAE membership for 2022 at the time of registration will be able to take advantage of the discount.
We look forward to sharing the full schedule for our 2021 NAAE Conference, and to welcoming you to the conversation - from wherever you will join us.
In peace,
NAAE Programs Committee
Dangerous Ecumenism for a Divided World
North American Academy of Ecumenists Annual Meeting
November 18, 2021, Exclusively Online
We live in the period following a successful ecumenical movement that convinced nearly all Christians that their relationship to Christ was not threatened by the mere fact of Christian difference. Decades of ecclesial dialogue and reconciliation have allowed Christian churches to proclaim the gospel together and to recognize the other as separated brethren rather than as heretics to be condemned. Mainstream ecumenical work has moved from being a dangerous crossing of heated division and become a mostly-safe, too-often-ignored branch of theological and ecclesial practice - a means of achieving institutional proximity with those we already trust and recognize.
But Christians remain divided from one another in any number of ways that reflect and enflame the divisions of contemporary society. The socio-political crises of our moment are pervasively theological, ethical, and indeed ecumenical: disagreements over race, class, gender, sexual orientation, the norms of public behavior, and national and international politics all reveal fault lines within the body of Christ. Such crises may lead to unexpected areas of cooperation between divided Christians or erupt into anger or even violence within traditions. Because these divisions are not typically interpreted as Christian division, their ecclesial entailments often receive little theological interpretation beyond yet another citation of Dr. King’s diagnosis of “the most segregated hour of Christian America.” And yet, it is of significant and underappreciated importance that all the major conflicts of contemporary North American society are (not exclusively but substantially) conflicts between Christians that constitute divisions between and within churches.
What does ecumenical experience and thought bring to the table in such a context? In what ways do ecumenical history and method equip us for disagreeing humanely and productively about public challenges with high stakes and real dangers? What principles and practices are needed today for Christians to engage each other responsibly about their differences and call one another to repentance or reconciliation? How do we discern what areas of difference actually require institutional separation or division? And how do we operate as Christians within traditions, especially when we find ourselves to be on opposing sides of polarizing divides from other members (or even leaders) of our own traditions?
Selected papers will be presented at the Academy’s annual conference, 18 November 2021, Exclusively Online, immediately preceding the American Academy of Religion conference. Conference papers are submitted for publication to the Journal of Ecumenical Studies.
About the Academy
The North American Academy of Ecumenists is a community of ecumenical scholars and activists from a wide variety of Christian traditions across North America. We promote scholarship, church life, and pastoral practice in the service of Christian and human unity and bring together ecumenists, theologians, liturgists, graduate students, church officials, clergy, religious and laity actively pursuing unity and peace.