Navigating Postmodern Theology: Insights from Jean-Luc Marion and Gianni Vattimo’s Philosophy

Theology in the postmodern era has encountered various cultural and narrative shifts which have helped shape the Roman Catholic Church and Christianity at large. Negatively, the Church has been affected by external factors (e.g., globalization, immigration/emigration, increased access to technology, etc.) and internal struggles (e.g., reduced church attendance, an aging population, etc.). Positively, postmodernity has ushered in a return to religion through new philosophical and theological ideas (e.g., phenomenology, existentialism, post-metaphysics, etc.). This book aims to contribute to the ongoing postmodern concerns addressed in the cultural and narrative shifts, by focusing on the work of Jean-Luc Marion and Gianni Vattimo. The emphasis of this project focuses on the use of metaphysics as the foundational tool of theology and its corresponding limitations while also addressing the Christian virtue of caritas. Addressing this attribute of Christianity, this project observes the possibility of a ‘return to religion,’ one that reflects the postmodern exploration of religion by the several philosophers addressed herein. While Michael J. McGravey avoids offering a reconstruction of theology or, more specifically ecclesiology, he aims to re-establish the importance of philosophy, metaphysics, and caritas in the postmodern context.