Postliberal Theology: A Guide for the Perplexed

Postliberal theology is a movement in contemporary theology that rejects both the Enlightenment appeal to a 'universal rationality' and the liberal assumption of an immediate religious experience common to all humanity. The movement initially began in the 1980s with its association to Yale Divinity School by theologians such as Hans Frei, Paul Holmer, David Kelsey, and George Lindbeck, who were themselves significantly influenced by the works of Karl Barth, Clifford Geertz, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Postliberalism uses a narrative approach to theology, arguing that all thought and experience is historically and socially mediated. Michener provides the reader with an accessible overview of the origins, current thought, potential problems, and future possibilities of postliberal theology. The movement's philosophical and theological backdrop is briefly discussed, along with the seminal theologians identified with the movement. Michener shows how postliberalism emerges from the context of the postmodern critique of Enlightenment rationalism and empiricism not as an advancer of the agenda of classical liberal theology but rather as its resounding critic.