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From Chinese Theology to Alternative Sinicizations: Theological Reception History and Moltmann’s Theology in Greater China

  • Naomi Elaine Thurston EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: August 22, 2025

Abstract

Moltmann’s theology has been imported into Chinese theological and wider humanist discourses since the mid-1980s. This text will argue for approaching studies of Moltmann’s theology in contemporary China from the perspective of reception history, rather than within the framework of officially mandated religious “Sinicization,”2 arguing that “theological reception histories” have engaged theological ideas and discourses in a dialogic, critical, and constructive manner that converses with China’s culture, history, and contemporary life.

Zusammenfassung

Moltmanns Theologie wurde seit Mitte der 1980er Jahre in den chinesischen theologischen und in den allgemeineren geisteswissenschaftlichen Diskurs importiert. Dieser Text argumentiert dafür, Studien zu Moltmanns Theologie im gegenwärtigen China aus einer rezeptionsgeschichtlichen Perspektive zu betrachten anstatt im Rahmen einer offiziell verordneten religiösen „Sinisierung.“ Es wird argumentiert, dass „theologische Rezeptionsgeschichten“ theologische Ideen und Diskurse in einer dialogischen, kritischen und konstruktiven Weise aufgenommen haben, die mit der Kultur, der Geschichte und dem zeitgenössischen Leben Chinas im Austausch steht.

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Published Online: 2025-08-22
Published in Print: 2025-09-02

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