Philip Clayton is the Dean of Claremont School of Theology and Provost of Claremont Lincoln University. He also holds the Ingraham Chair at CST. Clayton earned a joint PhD in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Yale University and has held visiting appointments at Harvard University, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Munich. He has published over 20 books and hundreds of academic and popular articles.
Over the course of 25 years of teaching and researching, Clayton’s interests migrated gradually from philosophy through the science-religion debate to constructive theology. Explanation from Physics to Theology: An Essay in Rationality and Religion (Yale 1989) and several dozen articles explored similarities and differences in how knowledge and explanations function across the disciplines. The Problem of God in Modern Thought (Eerdmans 2000) and a series of accompanying articles explored the fall and rise of theistic metaphysics in the modern era. Clayton then moved into a variety of leadership positions in the international debate on the science-religion relationship, including Principal Investigator of the Science and the Spiritual Quest program. He has been an outspoken advocate for multi-cultural and multi-religious approaches to the field. Clayton has written or edited over a dozen books in this field and spoken on the topic in almost every continent. Recent works include Adventures in the Spirit (Fortress 2009), In Quest of Freedom (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2009), The Predicament of Belief (Oxford 2012, with Steven Knapp), and Religion and Science: The Basics (Routledge 2012).
A series of events precipitated the most recent turn: leading the Ford Foundation grant “Rekindling Theological Imagination” with Marjorie Suchocki; lecturing around the country on emergent Christianity; organizing the “Theology After Google” event; and launching the “Big Tent Christianity” movement with Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, Tripp Fuller, and others. Transforming Christian Theology: For Church and Society (Fortress 2009) argued that seminaries should help prepare Christian leaders for an unheralded transformation in the church, which has already begun in our culture. Soon thereafter the invitation came to help lead Claremont School of Theology as it becomes the Christian member of an interreligious consortium of schools known as Claremont Lincoln University. The offer was too tempting to refuse.
Contact Information
Office of the Dean, Claremont School of Theology; or
Office of the Provost, Claremont Lincoln University
1325 N. College Ave.
Claremont, CA 91711 USA
(909) 447-2521
pclayton@cst.edu
Upcoming Talks & Lectures
[ complete list of talks & lectures ]
Books: Forthcoming Titles
- Science and Religion: The Basics, Routledge Press, forthcoming, 2011
- The Predicament of Belief: Science, Philosophy, and Christian Minimalism (with Steven Knapp), Oxford University Press, forthcoming, 2011.
- Beyond the Religion Wars: The Path from Reduction to Reenchantment (forthcoming).
- This Sacred Earth: Faith and the Future of the Planet, in preparation.
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Transforming Christian Theology: For Church and Society Philip Clayton (Minneapolis: Fortress Press 2009)
Christian language is alive and well in the churches, and sometimes even outside them as well. But serious reflection about what Christian language means in our world today is in deep trouble. This book, written for non-specialists, makes a radical call to pastors and laypeople to get involved and transform theology as we know it today. It offers concrete advice to readers on how to explore and voice their own Christian beliefs in such a way that they can have a transforming impact on both church and society. For further details on the Transforming Theology project, see TransformingTheology.org |
