Michael Hogue Receives 2008 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise

December 18, 2007

Dr. Michael Hogue, Assistant Professor of Theology at Meadville Lombard (right), has just received word that he will be among the twelve recipients of the 2008 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise.

The John Templeton Award recognizes the twelve best post-doctoral young scholars globally on the basis of their doctoral dissertations related to the topic of God and spirituality. An international and inter-religious panel of 25 judges evaluate the prize nominations. As Dr. Sharon Welch, Provost at Meadville Lombard, says, "this is like winning an Oscar in the realm of Theology!"

"This is a big, big thrill for me," said Hogue. "I'm humbled by the award and excited to have the opportunity to meet with young scholars from around the world. But this is also an affirmation that I've got important work to do. I feel very, very fortunate to be doing this work here with the Meadville Lombard community."

Hogue joined Meadville Lombard as a lecturer in the fall of 2005, becoming Assistant Professor of Theology in 2006. "The quality of Mike's intellect is matched only by the depth of his commitment to justice and flourishing for all beings," says Welch. "I am delighted to have him as a colleague, and am so grateful that we at Meadville Lombard are influenced daily by this incredibly gifted scholar and professor."

Hogue says he is keenly committed to the contemporary significance of liberal religion and liberal theology, especially within the context of global dynamics. Welch adds that she is "deeply gratified by the inspiration and intellectual leadership that he brings to Unitarian Universalism, in particular, and to the field of Liberal Religion, more broadly."

Applicants for the Templeton award submit their dissertations for consideration.  Hogue's dissertation, The Tangled Bank: Toward an Ecotheological Ethics of Responsible Participation, is a comparative critique of a Jewish philosopher who studied the intersection of ecology and technology and a Christian theologian who looked at the principles of ecology from a theological perspective. Hogue's dissertation will be published in the Spring of 2008 in the Princeton Theological Monograph Series of Wipf and Stock Press. He will teach an ethics course in Spring 2008 that draws heavily on his research for his dissertation.

Hogue is at work on his second book, Varieties of Religious Ethics and the Vulnerability of Life, which will consider how people can collaborate in mind of--rather than despite--religious differences to leverage a moral response to the common issue of the damage to our global eco-systems. Rowman and Littlefield will publish this book in 2009.

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Contact:
Tina Porter tporter@meadville.edu
(773) 256-3000 ext. 236