Prof. Dr. Matthew Ryan Robinson

21335 Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1
Fon +49.4131.677-2584 (Sekr.), matthew.robinson@leuphana.de
Gastprofessor*in, Institute of Ethics and Theological Research

Table of contents for this page

Vita

My research interests lie at the intersection of religion and society, focusing more specifically on how theologies shape and reflect the specific contexts of their emergence in complex ways. The kinds of questions I purse and the methods I employ thus tend to be highly interdisciplinary. My formal academic training is in the fields of Systematic Theology and Religious Studies. But I have always enjoyed returning to the history of philosophy, on the one hand, while on the other hand, engaging with new forms and contexts of religious communication (e.g., digital and intercultural). 

Since 2025 / Research Fellow, University of the Free State, South Africa

Since 2025 / Guest Professor of Systematic Theology and Ethics, Leuphana University Lüneburg

2025 / Habilitation and venia legendi for Systematic Theology
Protestant Theological Faculty, RFW University of Bonn, BONN
2022 / Ordination (Presbyterian Church (USA))
2015 / Doctor of Philosophy 
Dept. of Religious Studies, Northwestern University, EVANSTON
2011 / Master of Arts
Dept. of Religious Studies, Northwestern University, EVANSTON
2009 / Master of Divinity 
Divinity School of the University of Chicago, CHICAGO
2004 / Bachelor of Arts
Depts. of Philosophy & Ancient Languages, Wheaton College, WHEATON

Teaching

Systematic Theology (including Intercultural Theology and Ecumenics) and Theological Ethics

Research Interests

My areas of research focus include:

  • Intercultural Theology, World Christianity Studies, Christian Ecumenism
  • Religion and Social Transformation (including religion in connection with pluralism and (super)diversity and Digital Religion / Digital Theology)
  • Philosophy and theology during the Enlightenment and Romantic periods

Topics in Systematic Theology that I have worked on or in which I am developing new projects:

  • Social theory and ecclesiology
  • Communication, hermeneutics of proclamation and homiletics
  • Theological Method: Intercultural Theology, Liberation Theologies and Contextual Theologies (Prolegomena)
  • “The Holy” in relation to the science of awe and emerging discourses on the weird (doctrine of God, pneumatology)

Topics in Ethics that I have worked on or in which I am developing new projects:

  • Friedrich Schleiermacher’s ethics
  • Friendship, hospitality and tolerance
  • Youth, peace and conflict
  • Diversity and conviviality
  • Digital religious communication
  • The ambivalent place of loyalty in religion and politics

I am open to supervising doctoral researchers, whether in connection with one of the topics listed below or potentially working in a different direction. Please send me an email outlining your project and relevant experience.

  • Intercultural Theology, Christian Ecumenism, Interreligious Studies (with co-supervision)
  • Digital Religion / Digital Theology
  • Classical theories of religion, in particular Friedrich Schleiermacher, William James, Rudolf Otto
  • Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dorothee Sölle
  • Theology, religion, and society in the United States

Projects

Publications

Books and anthologies

  1. Sacred Protest: Religion, Power and Resistance in an Era of Upheaval
    Yaser Ellethy (Editor) , Anne Hege Grung (Editor) , Henry Jansen (Editor) , Matthew Ryan Robinson (Editor) , 2026 Leiden, The Netherlands

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Collected editions and anthologies › Research

  2. Kirche – Diakonie – und …?: Ein spannungsreiches Verhältnis im Wandel.: Festschrift für Eberhard Hauschildt
    Uta Pohl-Patalong (Editor) , Matthew Ryan Robinson (Editor) , Eike Kohler (Editor) , Claudia Schulz (Editor) , Anne Wächtershäuser (Editor) , 2024 Göttingen , 242 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Collected editions and anthologies › Research

  3. What does theology do, actually?: Vol. 2, Exegeting exegesis
    Phillip Andrew Davis (Editor) , Daniel Lanzinger (Author) , Matthew Ryan Robinson (Author) , 2023 Leipzig , 292 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Collected editions and anthologies › Research

  4. Enemy, Stranger, Neighbour, & Friend: Rough Guide on Religion and Othering
    Matthew Ryan Robinson (Author) , Lani Anaya Jiménez (Author) , Andrew DeCort (Author) , Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke (Author) , 2023 , 123 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Book › Research

  5. What does theology do, actually?: observing theology and the transcultural
    Matthew Ryan Robinson (Editor) , Inja Inderst (Editor) , 2022 Leipzig , 332 p.

    Research output: Books and anthologies › Collected editions and anthologies › Research

View all publications

Journal contributions

  1. “World,” “Global,” and the Reproduction of Asymmetrical Dependencies in the Study of Christianity
    Matthew Ryan Robinson (Author) , 01.02.2025 , in: Journal of World Christianity, 15, 1 , p. 85-98 , 14 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  2. Digital Religious Communication and the Facilitation of Social Resilience: Part 1: Theoretical Model and Proposal
    Johannes Fröh (Author) , Matthew Ryan Robinson (Author) , 01.01.2024 , in: Journal of Religious and Theological Information, 23, 1-2 , p. 1-27 , 27 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  3. Digital Religious Communication and the Facilitation of Social Resilience: Part 2: Empirical Test of the Theoretical Model. A Study of the Twitter Activity of Ecumenical and Social Justice-Oriented Groups during the COVID-19 Pandemic
    Johannes Fröh (Author) , Matthew Ryan Robinson (Author) , 01.01.2024 , in: Journal of Religious and Theological Information, 23, 1-2 , p. 28-46 , 19 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  4. What are we talking about when we talk about the (post)secular? Recentering mutual participation and a commitment to communicability in scholarly discussions of contemporary religions
    Matthew Ryan Robinson (Author) , 01.03.2023 , in: Dialog, 62, 1 , p. 51-65 , 15 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  5. Youth Agency in Peacebuilding
    Lani Anaya Jiménez (Author) , Matthew Ryan Robinson (Author) , 01.12.2022 , in: Ecumenical Review, 74, 5 , p. 760-781 , 22 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

View all publications

Contributions to collected editions/anthologies

  1. Life Together in Diverse Societies
    Matthew Ryan Robinson (Author) , 01.01.2025 , p. 47-66 , 20 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research › peer-review

  2. Life Together in Diverse Societies: Philosophical and Theological Reflections on Conviviality Theory
    Matthew Ryan Robinson (Author) , 01.01.2025 , p. 47-66 , 20 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research › peer-review

  3. Caring, Helping, and For-giving: Systematic-Theological Reflections Drawn From Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together
    Matthew Ryan Robinson (Author) , 01.01.2024 Göttingen , p. 177-188 , 12 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research

  4. Interkulturelle Theologie als Herausforderung für die theologische Forschung zum Christentum in einer globalen Gesellschaft
    Matthew Ryan Robinson (Author) , 01.01.2024 Leipzig , p. 91-104 , 14 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research › peer-review

  5. Friedrich schleiermacher and the postsecular: "Pacemaker for the Consciousness of a Postsecular Society"?
    Matthew Ryan Robinson (Author) , 18.12.2023 , p. 645-659 , 15 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research › peer-review

View all publications

Press / Media

Teaching