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Symbol, Ritual, and Sacrament
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Symbol, Ritual, and Sacrament
2026 Call for Papers
Paul Melley, Providence College (RI)
theology reckon with Christian nationalism by exposing its duplicity and offering an alternative
theological perspective grounded in a critical study of faith and ethics? Sacraments are essential bearers
and mediators of fundamental meaning for the identity of Christians—events of God’s saving action in
the “already” through words and rites, action and gesture, and toward the “not yet” of the Reign of God.
Indeed, the sacramental oikonomia is part of God’s freely chosen teleological, redemptive work toward “a
new heaven and a new earth.” (Isa 65:17) If this is so, it may be said that the Christian vocation and
identity in Christ is citizenship in the Reign of God. This call is, as St. Paul claims, “far above every
principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in
the one to come.” (Eph 1:21).
The SRS topic session seeks scholarly engagement with sacraments, liturgy, and justice as reciprocally
enmeshed through the ritual and symbolic enactment of commemoration within the sacramental
community and the convention theme.
Relevant engagements might include (others are welcome):
• Sacraments as signs and effective bearers of the Reign of God. What do Christian sacraments tell
us about how to live as inhabitants of God’s Reign?
• What is [a] sacramental identity? How might that inform our sense of the inherent worth and
dignity of each human person? What are the implications for fashioning a “beloved community”
which transcends the barriers of class, race, and national identity?
• How should liturgical theology construct creative ritual approaches for persons to appropriate
values and standards of the Reign of God to effect social change?
• How are the patterns of worship, thanksgiving and praise of God interrelated and essential to
human flourishing?
• Sacramental experiences are celebrations and resonances of God’s self-disclosure in human
history: initiating and welcoming, sustaining and feeding, forgiving and healing, serving,
endowing, and the covenanting with creaturely life. How does sacramental and liturgical theology
provide an ameliorative counter-ritual, praxis, and habitus as way of training and disciplining of
our imagination and vision?
• How do sacraments of conversion or initiation become part of Christian nationalist
ideologies? Why has conversion to Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy become wrapped up with
these agendas?
• How does Christian nationalism utilize Christian symbols and rituals to pursue its own goals?
INFORMATION INCLUDED IN YOUR PROPOSAL:
• Your proposals should be 250-500 words in length
• Please provide the current institutional affiliation and position of all participants, as well
as contact information, including e‐mail.
• Indicate whether you will be requiring A/V equipment
• CTS membership status
ELIGIBILITY FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS:
• Scholars who are invited to present their work at a national convention of the College
Theology Society must be current members of the CTS in order to appear in the
program.
• No person may submit more than one proposal for consideration and nor will
submissions to multiple sections be considered. Failure to observe these policies may
result in the scholar's disqualification to present a paper at the Annual Convention
DEADLINE: December 20, 2025
Please submit proposals to:
Paul Melley (pmelley@providence.edu)
You will be notified by e‐mail whether your paper has been accepted by January
15, 2026
The College Theology Society is a registered, non-profit professional society and a Related Scholarly Organization of the American Academy of Religion. |
