Paul S. Chung’s Interview with Prof. Dr. Traugott Jähnichen
Paul Chung takes the opportunity to interview Prof. Dr. Traugott Jähnichen at Evangelisch-Theologische Fakultät Ruhr Universität Bochum, Germany. Our International Public Theology in Forum is excited to work together with Prof. Jähnichen in the near future to promote public theology and democracy of civil society, eco-justice, and integrity of the life-world.
Today’s situation of crisis becomes acute in the Ukraine war and the pathology of late capitalism in a neoliberal economic system, as was brought by the capitalist revolution (Helmut Gollwitzer).
Prof. Jähnichen specializes in the field of Christian Social Theory and economic ethics, and teaches this academic discipline in connection with ethical basic relations and in terms of social institutions. His research project is featured as cross-disciplinary and an intercultural engagement across a diverse spectrum.
Jähnichen involves dialogues with sociology and other human sciences to emphasize ethical responsibility and renew social structure in accordance with the biblical prophetic tradition of Christian faith, confronting crises and challenges of today’s global situations.
Along with the marching progress of globalization, technological rationality and its achievement prevail by undergirding the functional differentiation of society. Western society is characterized in its cultural pluralism and racial hierarchy within social stratification (seen in current immigration politics in USA and Europe and the sociobiological revival of old social Darwinism).
Given this, it is a pressing issue for Christian Social Theory to take into account social integration of late modern society. Christian social ethics needs to incorporate significance of the world and life in accordance with Biblical witness and Christian tradition, bringing its power of social formation and ecological sustainability into effect.
Appreciation
Traugott Jähnichen is committed to actualizing Christian sociology and embodying Christian faith as praxis of discipleship in the public sphere of late modern industrial society, as well as challenging neo-liberal systems of world economy. He brings the ethical tradition from Martin Luther to Helmut Gollwitzer into a prophetic profile of social Protestantism; the grace of justification cannot be understood without its social ethical consequences. His contribution consists of ethics of world economy and prophetic Diakonia of the church for civil society, democracy and social justice.
Publications (recent works select)
Die Ethik Martin Luthers, Bielefeld 2017 (gemeinsam mit Wolfgang Maaser)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer – Life and Legacy, Traugott Jähnichen/Pascal Bataringaya/Olivier Munyansanga/Clemens Wustmans (Eds.), Zürich 2019
Wirtschaftsethik 4.0. Der digitale Wandel als wirtschaftsethische Herausforderung, Stuttgart 2020 (gemeinsam mit Joachim Wiemeyer)
Overcoming Violence. Challenges and Theological Responses in the Context of Central Africa and Europe, edited by Pascal Bataringaya/Claudia Jahnel/Traugott Jähnichen/Penine Uwimbabazi, Zürich 2021
Ecological Justice. Churches as civil-society-stakeholders: perspectives from Africa and Europe, hg. von Claudia Jahnel und Traugott Jähnichen, Oer-Erkenschwick 2022
Evangelischer Glaube in der pluralen Religionskultur der Moderne. Fundamentaltheologische Perspektiven, Stuttgart 2023