Candler and the Aquinas Center of Theology will welcome noted feminist theologian Elizabeth A. Johnson, CSJ, for a Dean’s Lecture on Wednesday, March 27, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Room 252 of Candler’s Rita Anne Rollins Building. The event is free and open to the public and lunch will be provided for those who register by March 20. Register here.
Johnson’s lecture, “Is God’s Charity Broad Enough for Bears?”, responds to a question first raised by 19th-century naturalist John Muir and launches her exploration of humanity’s relationship to the natural world in the face of 21st-century ecological crises. Drawing from evolutionary science and Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Sí, she will present the challenge of loving Earth and its species as an intrinsic part of faith in God, and of acting for ecojustice as essential to Christian spirituality.
Johnson is Professor Emerita at Fordham University and author of numerous books and articles, including She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse, and most recently Creation and the Cross: The Mercy of God for a Planet in Peril. A past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America and also of the American Theological Society, she has served on the editorial boards of major journals and seen her work translated into thirteen languages.
Johnson was awarded the Fordham Teaching Award in 1998 and Professor of the Year Award in 2011. She has mentored dozens of doctoral students who are now themselves professors. The recipient of fifteen honorary doctorates and numerous other accolades, she has been deeply involved in the life of the church, including serving on the national U.S. Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue and the Vatican-sponsored dialogue between science and religion.
Candler School of Theology is located on the campus of Emory University, at 1531 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322.