Rieger is the author and editor of more than 20 books and over 135 academic articles,which have been translated into Portuguese,Spanish,Italian,German,Korean,and Chinese.[8]
Rieger is editor of the academic book series New Approaches to Religion and Power with Palgrave Macmillan Publishers and,together with Kwok Pui-lan,he edits the academic book series Religion in the Modern World (Rowman and Littlefield).[8][failed verification]
Rieger has lectured throughout the United States as well as internationally,including presentations in Argentina,Brazil,Costa Rica,Mexico,Canada,South Africa,Zimbabwe,Germany,Switzerland,Austria,Slovakia,the Netherlands,Belgium,England,Russia,Thailand,and China.[9]
Ideas
Rieger is an activist constructive theologian[10] in the tradition of liberation theology.[11] Robert Wafawanaka has referred to Rieger as an "Occupy theologian" because he endorses the views of the Occupy movement and shares its ethos.[12] Rieger understands theology as functioning to support or transform reality,especially historical and contemporary economic systems.[13] His work focuses on economic class[14] and empire.[15] In politics,Rieger argues that religion and politics cannot easily be separated.[16]
Rieger describes his work as an effort to bring theology and contemporary liberation movements together.[17] His work addresses the relation of theology and public life,reflecting on the misuse of power in religion,politics,and economics.[a] His main interest is in developments and movements that bring about change and in the positive contributions of religion and theology. His work in theology draws on a wide range of historical and contemporary traditions,with a concern for manifestations of the divine in the pressures of everyday life.[9][18][19]
Rieger advocates for a materialistic spirituality centered on working to improve the material conditions of the marginalized.[20] He believes current economic systems are incompatible with the biblical conception of God.[21] Rieger has described economic ideologies as religions,and asserts that people typically assent to them as a matter of blind faith,not empirical evidence. He renounces the perceived hegemony of free market ideology offering Christian theology as an alternative.[22]
Rieger's criticizes the currently dominant economic system especially for increasing global economic inequality,[23] and also for poverty,distorting of the way people and their work are valued,and limiting control people have over their lives.[24] As a response to economic injustice,Rieger promotes solidarity with those negatively impacted by current economic processes[25] and encourages Christians to modify economic systems to promote the wellbeing of everyone.[26]
Rieger and Kwok Pui-lan coined the notion of deep solidarity,[27] which is a recognition that the community as a whole is harmed by the unjust system,not just a particular group to be paternalistically supported from a place of superiority or distance.[28] Within this framework,the presence of college-educated individuals participating in the Occupy movement is not lack of authenticity in their appeal for economic justice,but rather an achievement in helping a broader portion of the public identify themselves as oppressed and able to see inequality as a threat to society as whole.[29]
Published works
Books authored
Theology in the Capitalocene. Ecology,Identity,Class,and Solidarity. Minneapolis:Fortress Press,2022
Jesus vs. Caesar:For People Tired of Serving the Wrong God. Nashville:Abingdon Press,2018.
No Religion but Social Religion:Liberating Wesleyan Theology. With Contributions by Paulo Ayres Mattos,Helmut Renders,and JoséCarlos de Souza. Nashville:GBHEM,2018.
Unified We Are a Force:How Faith and Labor Can Overcome America’s Inequalities. With Rosemarie Henkel-Rieger. Saint Louis,Mo.:Chalice Press,2016.
Faith on the Road:A Short Theology of Travel and Justice. Downers Grove,Ill.:InterVarsity Press,2015.
Graça libertadora:como o metodismo pode se envolver no século vinte e um. (Liberating Grace:How Methodism Can Engage the Twenty-First Century.) With additional contributions by Helmut Renders,JoséCarlos de Souza,and Paulo Ayres Mattos. Portuguese only,translated from the English by Elizangela A. Soares. São Bernardo do Campo,SP:Editeo,2015.
with Pui-lan, K. (2012). Occupy Religion: Theology of the Multitude. Religion in the Modern World. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN978-1-4422-1793-5. Chinese Translation (transl. by Jenny Wong Yan). Hong Kong: Chinese Christian Literature Council, 2015.
Traveling: Christian Explorations of Daily Living. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2011. Portuguese translation: Fé e viagens no mundo globalizado (transl. by José Raimundo Vidigal). São Paulo: Editora Paulus, 2014. Chinese Translation (transl. by Jane Ng). Hong Kong: Chinese Christian Literature Council, 2014. Korean Translation. Seoul: Poiema, an imprint of Gimm-Young Publishers, 2015.
Grace Under Pressure: Negotiating the Heart of the Methodist Tradition. Nashville: United Methodist General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. 2011. ISBN978-0-938162-77-3. Portuguese translation: Graça sob Pressão: Negociando o Coração das Tradições Metodistas (transl. by Felipe Maia). São Bernardo do Campo: Editeo, 2012. Spanish translation: Gracia bajo presión (transl. by Alejandro Alfaro-Santi). Buenos Aires: Ediciones La Aurora, 2016.
Globalization and Theology. Horizons in theology. Abingdon Press. 2010. ISBN978-1-4267-0065-1. Italian translation: Globalizzazione e Teologia (transl. by Andrea Aguti). Preface by Rosino Gibellini. Brescia: Editrice Queriniana, 2015.
No Rising Tide: Theology, Economics, and the Future. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. 2009. ISBN978-1-4514-1112-6. Spanish Translation: La religion del Mercado: Una aproximación crítica a la acumulación y la probreza (transl. and ed. by Néstor Míguez). Buenos Aires: Ediciones La Aurora, 2016.
Beyond the Spirit of Empire: Theology and Politics in a New Key. Reclaiming Liberation Theology Series. Co-authored with Néstor Míguez and Jung Mo Sung. London: SCM Press, 2009. Portuguese translation: Para além do espírito do Império: Novas perspectivas em política e religião (transl. by Gilmar Saint’ Clair Ribeiro and Barbara T. Lambert). São Paulo: Paulinas, 2012. Spanish translation: Más allá del espiritu imperial: Nuevas perspectivas en política y religión (transl. by Nicolás Panotto and Néstor Míguez). Prologo de F. Hinkelammert. Buenos Aires: Ediciones La Aurora, 2016.
Christ & Empire: From Paul to Postcolonial Times. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. 2007. ISBN978-0-8006-2038-7. German translation: Christus und das Imperium: Von Paulus bis zum Postkolonialismus (transl. by Sabine Plonz). Berlin: Lit Verlag, 2009.Portuguese translation: Cristo e Império: de Paulo aos tempos pós-coloniais, Coleção Bíblia e Sociologia (transl. by Luiz Alexandre Solano Rossi). São Paulo: Editora Paulus, 2009.
Religious Experience and New Materialism: Movements Matter. Co-editor with Edward Waggoner. Radical Theologies Series. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
Religion, Theology, and Class: Fresh Engagements after Long Silence. New Approaches to Religion and Power. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US. 2013. ISBN978-1-137-33924-9.
Across Borders: Latin Perspectives in the Americas Reshaping Religion, Theology, and Life. Editor. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2013.
Empire and the Christian Tradition: New Readings of Classical Theologians. Co-editor, with Don Compier and Kwok Pui Lan. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007.
Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice. Associate Editor. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 2007.
Opting for the Margins: Postmodernity and Liberation in Christian Theology. American Academy of Religion, Reflection and Theory in the Study of Religion Series. Editor. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Methodist and Radical: Rejuvenating a Tradition. Co-editor with John Vincent. Nashville: Kingswood Books, 2003.
Theology from the Belly of the Whale: A Frederick Herzog Reader. Editor. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 1999.
Liberating the Future: God, Mammon, and Theology. Editor. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998.
Bray, Karen (2015). "The Common Good of the Flesh: An Indecent Invitation to William E. Connelly, Jeorg Rieger, and Political Theology". In Johnson-DeBaufre, Melanie; Keller, Catherine; Ortega-Aponte, Elias (eds.). Common Goods: Economy, Ecology, and Political Theology. New York: Fordham University Press. pp.386–406. doi:10.2307/j.ctt17t74qs.22. ISBN978-0-8232-6843-6.
——— (2016). "Becoming Feces: New Materialism and the Deep Solidarity in Feeling like Shit". In Rieger, Jeorg; Waggoner, Edward (eds.). Religious Experience and New Materialism: Movement Matters. Radical Theologies and Philosophies. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp.105–134. doi:10.1007/978-1-137-56844-1_5. ISBN978-1-137-56844-1.
Küster, Volker (2017). "Review of Globalization, Gender and Peacebuilding: The Future of Interfaith Dialogue, by Kwok Pui-Lan, and Occupy Religion: Theology of the Multitude, by Joerg Rieger and Kwok Pui-Lan". Exchange. 46 (3): 317–319. doi:10.1163/1572543X-12341449. ISSN1572-543X.
Rieger, Jeorg (1994). Approaches to the Real: Liberation Theology and Spirituality in Latin America and North America; A Comparison of the Works of Gustavo Gutierrez and Frederick Herzog (PhD thesis). Durham, North Carolina: Duke University. OCLC31913291.
——— (2004). "Liberating God-Talk: Postcolonialism and the Challenge of the Margins". In Keller, Catherine; Nausner, Michael; Rivera, Mayra (eds.). Postcolonial Theologies: Divinity and Empire. St. Louis, Missouri: Chalice Press. pp.204–220. ISBN978-0-8272-3059-0.
——— (2009). No Rising Tide: Theology, Economics, and the Future. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press. ISBN978-1-4514-1112-6.
——— (2010). Globalization and Theology. Horizons in Theology. Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press. ISBN978-1-4267-0065-1.
———, ed. (2013). Religion, Theology, and Class: Fresh Engagements After Long Silence. New Approaches to Religion and Power. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1057/9781137339249. ISBN978-1-137-33924-9.
Rieger, Joerg; Kwok Pui-lan (2012). Occupy Religion: Theology of the Multitude. Religion in the Modern World. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN978-1-4422-1793-5.
Vickers, Jason E. (2013). "The Wesleys' Role in World Methodism". In Gibson, William; Forsaith, Peter; Wellings, Martin (eds.). The Ashgate Research Companion to World Methodism. Ashgate Methodist Studies Series. London: Ashgate Publishing. doi:10.4324/9781315613789. ISBN978-1-4724-0514-2.
Wafawanaka, Robert (2015). "The Global Crisis of Debt in Context: Biblical and Postcolonial Reflections on the Ideology of Empire". In Worthington, Bruce (ed.). Reading the Bible in an Age of Crisis: Political Exegesis for a New Day. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press. pp.163–190. ISBN978-1-4514-8286-7.
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