Conference Schedule (based on four days); possible month—March or May or September 2026 (consensus needed) 

Conference theme: Religion, Civil Society and Sociobiology: Public Theology Perspective

Suggestions for Presentation Guideline:

Everything is public, then nothing is public. Please do not generalize the term pubic theology, because public theology is distinguished or even differentiated from liberation theology, contextual theologies, political theology, or postcolonial theology, etc. When you write the presentation, please articulate the public theology standpoint in accordance with civil society, justice for the common good, deliberate democracy, politics of recognition, and integrity of the life-world, as expressed in our Forum-Center (see “Public Theology in the German Context” written by Traugott Jaehnichen and “Public Theology in an American Context” written by Craig Nessan and Paul S. Chung).

A public theology standpoint focuses on the regime of interrogation (a practice of problematization as to material interests and power relations) in dealing with diverse fields (political society, cultural society, comparative religions, or scientific society, among others). Please develop your own regime of interrogation in the social cultural stratification in terms of discourse clarification, politics of recognition, and world construction.

Paper Submission: Abstract and a Brief Introduction

All presenters are supposed to begin submitting their paper abstracts and brief introductions in January 2025. Please share your abstract and a brief introduction for editing feedbacks and improvements. Then please submit your completed paper first to Dr. Chung due to compatibility issues.

Book Translation for Demonstration:

Heinrich Bedford-Strohm’s Liberation Theology: Collected Essays is currently being translated by a Korean team to demonstrate his public theology and emancipation for a democratic society. Heinrich’s book should be recommended as a creative extension of Bonhoeffer, Barth, and Moltmann in the post-minjung context of S. Korea.

Prof. Deborah Gordon of Stanford University provides an introduction to the Korean translation of the book Ant Encounters. This book is seen in the United States as an alternative to sociobiologist explanations for ant colonies, humans, and social Darwinism in terms of genetic determinism. Deborah serves as a personal advisor in the field of systems biology at Forum-Center.

Special Agenda for Publication

Two possible options:

Exclusive 2026 Conference theme at Currents in Theology and Mission (www.currentsjournal.org–organized by Craig Nessan)

Collected papers (“Religion, Civil Society, and Sociobiology: Public Theology Perspective”) at Cascade, Wipf and Stock (organized by Ray Carr)

For Effective Communication:

Please submit your presentation paper first to Dr. Chung, who then will distribute it to American and German colleagues due to compatibility issues (University of Bochum email system incompatible with .doc files).

Citation: If you want to contribute your own paper to our Forum section (up to 5000 words), please use parenthetical citation with references.

For example, (Tillich, Systematic Theology: 1, 20)—this parenthetical citation is placed at the end of the sentence.

Reference

Tillich, Paul. Systematic Theology. vol.1, Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1951.

Let’s collaborate effectively on the 2026 Seoul Conference to make it successful!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

All the best,

Paul Chung

A Trip Report

Dear friends and colleagues,

I came home safely and appreciate that Craig and Heinrich had effective communication with me during the trip.  Now I am glad to share what I did on my trip to Seoul. During my brief trip, I experienced God’s providence and human confusion. In other words, God prepares for our 2026 Seoul conference ahead of us. I had never expected such a thing!

            I really appreciate Heinrich’s moving words regarding Moltmann for the Korean church. When I delivered Moltmann’s last blessings to the Korean church and PROK (My home church body), the newly elected general secretary has promised to support our Seoul conference to honor Moltmann’s contribution to South Korea.

            Given this context, I am planning our conference agenda around the dates of PROK General Assembly. I had the opportunity to meet with Traugott’s former doctoral students, who were led by Dr. Lim, a liaison person of our Forum-Center. They strongly supported the conference (including some funding).

            Furthermore, Dr. Chai at Hanshin Theological Seminary, who serves as visiting faculty at our Forum-Center, has committed to provide guest rooms at a special discount for participants. The guest rooms have been just remodeled, and their facilities are much better than those of a local Hotel (three stars).

            I schedule our conference agenda according to recent dynamics and changes. The most important agenda item is Day 1, which is supported by PROK and KNCC. The meeting venue is the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church Institution, where KNCC and PROK collaborate to promote our public theology conference as continuation of prophetic legacy of Barth, Bonhoeffer, and Moltmann.

            If you have any concerns about this procedure and preparation, please share your thought with me. Just keep in mind that Day 1 is highlighted as the purpose of our conference, emphasizing the importance of ecumenical public theology for theology and church in South Korea.

*******

The following is the detailed debriefing.

Recent Developments in the Context of the 2026 Seoul Conference, as informed by my Korea trip (September 22-October 4)

In Honor of the Legacy of Jürgen Moltmann in South Korea

“Religion, Civil Society, and Sociobiology: Public Theology Perspective”

 The 2026 Seoul Conference is scheduled to occur from Monday, September 28, to Friday, October 2.

General Assembly Meeting of Presbyterian Church of Republic of Korea (PROK) from

September 29 (Tuesday) through October 1 (Thursday):

Budge Responsibilities and Honorarium

In recognition of Moltmann’s legacy. a Korean hospitality grant covers Hotel expenses for the seven-day conference. The conference commences with the Monday check-in and concludes with the Monday check out.  A one-day excursion of Seoul is included in the Korean grant.

Nevertheless, overseas participants are responsible for covering their own airfare.

Timetable Proposal

Day 1 (Monday, September 28)

Worship Opening:

At 9:00 pm: Traugott’s sermon on Moltmann’s legacy and South Korea

Location: The 100th Memorial Chapel in conjunction with PROK-KNCC

1:00: Heinrich’s inaugural lecture—Ecumenical Public Theology

A Constructive Dialogue with Heinrich and Ecumenical Public Theology

2:00-2:50—George Hunsinger: Karl Barth, Public Theology, and Ecumenical Church (in contact)

3:00-3:50—Craig Nessan: Bonhoeffer, Moltmann, and Public Theology in the United States

4:00-4:50—Paul S. Chung: A Shared Vision of Ecumenical Public Theology

5:00-6:00—Question and Answer Session

Day 2 (Tuesday, September 29)

Science and Religion Dialogue

Location: Hanshin Theological Seminary

Traugott: Christian Social Theory, Public Theology, and Social Darwinism

Torsten: Public Theology, Discourse Paradigm, and Environmental Justice