The Religious Meaning of Culture: Paul Tillich and Beyond

Throughout his theological career Paul Tillich (1886-1965) was fundamentally concerned with the question of the religious meaning of culture. The answers that he gave – initially in the revolutionary ferment of 1920s-30s Germany and then again in the brave new world of post-World War II America – were profound and far-reaching in their importance for twentieth-century theology. This paper will explore the development of Tillich’s interpretations of the religious meaning of culture and apply his analyses to our contemporary religious and cultural situation by suggesting a Trinitarian enlargement of Tillich’s concept of theonomous metaphysics towards a multi-dimensional theology of culture.