Mysticism and Politics

2026 Call for Papers

Matthew Cuff, Boston College (MA)

cuffm@bc.edu

Claire Koen, Salve Regina University (RI)

claire.koen@salve.edu

Christian nationalism thrives on power, exclusionary boundaries, and rigid hierarchies, often sanctifying violence and cloaking itself in religious symbols. Throughout Christian history, mystical traditions have played an ambiguous role vis-a-vis the political order. At times, these traditions have justified rigid notions of celestial, ecclesial, and political hierarchy. In other moments, these traditions have offered counter-narratives such as visions of divine-human communion (theōsis) that transcend boundaries, practices of contemplation that resist domination, and apocalyptic hope that unsettles authoritarian pseudo-certainties. The Mysticism & Politics section invites papers that explore both the mixed history and practice of mysticism as well as the mystical tradition’s potential to expose the idolatrous duplicity of Christian nationalism and articulate alternative visions of faith rooted in justice, solidarity, and the common good.

While any proposals relevant to the annual theme are welcome, we are particularly interested in proposals that address the following topics:

Kenosis and Power - Nationalist and Otherwise
How do mystical traditions of kenosis - when applied politically - disrupt the will to power - nationalist, ecclesial, or otherwise? In what way might weaponized kenotic approaches to political and ecclesial life reinscribe the very structures which Christian mystical discourses of self-emptying seek to overcome? We invite papers that examine kenosis - Christian and otherwise - as a resource for resisting the consolidation of Christian nationalism’s conception of dominating power resulting in white supremacy, political and social hierarchies, and exclusionary practices of various types.

Mysticism and the Politics of Belonging
Mystical theologies of communion often envision belonging beyond boundaries of race, nation, gender, or religion. For instance, how might mystical notions of divine-human communion re-orient notions of human and ecological conceptions of social and political communion? We welcome contributions on how mystical traditions can foster radical hospitality to and solidarity with the other in contrast to Christian nationalism’s Schmittian binary logic of “friend and foe.” Themes to consider might include the concept of the porosity as it relates to theology as an academic discipline, prayer/mystical experience, and decolonial notions of border-thinking.

Christian Nationalism, and AI

Undergirding nationalisms is an understanding of the self as constructed against an other or a group of others. Threats to the nationalistic self–others who inhabit and take up roles that the nationalist believes are reserved solely for the group members–bring about what Calvin Warren has termed “ontological terror:” the not-quite-human is acting and inhabiting public spaces in ways that only fully human, full group members are supposed to. Operative in nationalistic thinking then is a kind of gnosticism: if you can purify the communal body sufficiently, you can bring about a refined human society. In recent years the rise of what some have termed the “tech bro gnostic” movement has resurfaced age-old contentions that access to enough of the right kind of knowledge will allow humankind to overcome their vulnerable fleshy bodies. Undergirding nationalisms and gnostic approaches to technology is the idolatrous assumption that both individuals and communities can, and should, be shaped in the image of a particular human conception of perfection. Consequently, ways of knowing and of being in the world that are not reliant upon such assumptions impinge upon the fulfillment of such visions. We invite papers that consider how otherwise ways of being and knowing pose threats to the nationalist and tech-gnostic self, while also serving--in their otherness--as integral to techniques of these selves.

Submission Guidelines:

Please submit your proposals to Matthew Cuff (cuffm@bc.edu) and Claire Koen (claire.koen@salve.edu) by December 15th, 2025. Proposals should be 250-500 words in length and must include the following: paper title, your name, email, institutional affiliation and position, and CTS membership status. A complete list of submission guidelines can be found on the CTS website