Bradford Hinze
Karl Rahner, S.J. Chair in Theology
Department of Theology
Rose Hill Campus
441 East Fordham Road
Bronx, New York 10458
Email: [email protected]
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Bradford E Hinze is the Karl Rahner S. J. Professor of Theology. He received a BA in philosophy from St. Thomas University in St. Paul, MN, an MA in theology from Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and his PhD is from the University of Chicago where he studied modern Continental philosophy, hermeneutics, critical theory, and the history of theology.
At the University of Chicago, he studied with Benard McGinn and Paul Ricœur philosophies and theologies of history, historical critical studies, and the use of rhetoric in historical narratives. These motivated his research on disputed doctrinal issues, theories of doctrinal development, and the nature of ecclesial reform in his dissertation, Narrating History, Developing Doctrine: Friedrich Schleiermacher and Johann Sebastian Drey (1993) mentored by Brian Gerrish.
During the beginning of his career at Marquette University, Hinze concentrated on contentious theological issues in hermeneutics, critical theory, and the role of praxis as these contributed to the function of dialogue in various synodal, conciliar, ecumenical, and interreligious practices developed after Vatican II, which oriented his research on his second book, Practices of Dialogical in the Roman Catholic Church: Aims and Obstacles, Lessons and Laments (2006).
His third book, Prophetic Obedience: Ecclesiology for a Dialogical Church (2016), was researched and written at Fordham University, and explored the prophetic character of the church by delineating basic biblical and theological features of Christian discipleship and the mission of the church, especially in the Archdiocese of New York and specifically the Bronx. He devoted special attention to the role of lamentations in prophetic discourse and the summons to prophetic obedience in terms of heeding, receiving, and responding to the voice of the Spirit of God in human aspirations and laments in the local churches and community organizing.
Hinze’s fourth book investigated clergy sex abuse, its emergence and evolution, in the U.S. Catholic Church in terms of Confronting a Church in Controversy in 2022.
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B.A. Philosophy - St. Thomas University, St. Paul Minnesota, 1976
M.A. Theology - Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, 1978
Ph.D. Theology - The University of Chicago, 1989
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I currently have three main avenues of research: (1) the nature and evolution of synodality as a practice of dialogue in the Catholic Church, with other Christian churches, other religious traditions, and with people who are religious seekers or have no explicit religious orientation. (2) Ongoing work on the role of conflict and lamentations in personal, ecclesial, and civic life as addressed during the synod, e.g., the ordination of woman as deacons, LGBTQ people, and the victims of racial, cultural, and gender injustice; and (3) advancing the decolonial mission of the synodal church.
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Recent publications
- “Decolonizing Synodality by Engaging Those at the Existential Peripheries.” In Decolonizing Churches: Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network, Eds. Raimundo César Barreto, Jr. and Vladimir Latinovic. Palgrave MacMillan, 2023. Pp. 41-59.
- "What Is the Spirit Saying to the Churches Through the Laments of the Faithful?" in Receptive Ecumenism as Transformative Ecclesial Learning: Walking the Way to a Church Re-Formed. Ed. Paul Murray, Paul Lakeland, and Gregory Ryan. Oxford University Press, 2022. Pp. 334-48.
- “Dreams of Synodality, Specters of Constraint,” Louvain Studies 38 (2020) 297-312.
- “The Grace of Conflict,” Theological Studies, 81 (2020) 40-65.
- “Decolonizing Everyday Practices: Sites of Struggle in Church and Society,” Presidential Address, CTSA Proceedings 71 (2016) 46-61.
- “Precarious Life, Laments, and the Promise of Prophetic Ecumenical and Interfaith Communities,” Where We Dwell in Common: The Quest for Dialogue in the Twenty-First Century. Ed. Gerard Mannion. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
- “Talking Back, Acting Up: Wrestling with Spirits in Social Bodies,” Interdisciplinary and Religio-Cultural Discourses on a Spirit-Filled World: Loosing the Spirits. Eds. Kirsteen Kim, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, and Amos Yong. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Pp. 155-70.
Books
- Confronting A Church in Controversy. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2022.
- Prophetic Obedience: Ecclesiology for a Dialogical Church. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2016.
- Practices of Dialogue in the Roman Catholic Church: Aims and Obstacles, Lessons and Laments. New York, NY: Continuum, 2006.
- Doctrinal Criticism, Reform, and Development in the Work of Friedrich Schleiermacher and Johann Sebastian Drey. American Academy of Religion Academy Series, 1993.
Edited books
- Beyond Dogmatism and Innocence: Hermeneutics, Critique, and Catholic Theology. Eds. Bradford E. Hinze and Anthony J. Godzieba. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2017.
- Learning from All the Faithful: A Contemporary Theology of the Sensus Fidei, Eds. Bradford E. Hinze and Peter Phan. Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications, 2016.
- Heirs of Abraham: The Future of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian Relations. Eds., Bradford E. Hinze and Irfan Omar. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Press, 2005. Portuguese trans. 2007.
- The Spirit in the Church and the World. Ed. Bradford E. Hinze, Annual Volume for the College Theology Society. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Press, 2004.
- Advents of the Spirit: Introduction to the Current Study of Pneumatology. Edited by Bradford E. Hinze and D. Lyle Dabney. Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 2001.