THE PURSUIT OF A RATIONALITY OF GRACE: PAUL TILLICH’S APPROACH TO MODERNITY AND CAPITALISM

Abstract

This article discusses the thought of Paul Tillich, a German-Unitedstatian Protestant theologian, and his approach to the issues of modernity and capitalism. Tillich’s critique of capitalism is a critique of modernity, specifically a type of rationality that leads to the desanctification of nature, meaning its objectificationand subsequent domination. Tillich understands this form of rationality as foundational to the economic model of exploitation and its social and, we can also understand, environmental consequences. Overcoming the current crisis, therefore, involves rethinking the relationship between humans and nature and their way of conceptualizing it. Thus, the pursuit is for a theological and religious rationality capable of encompassing autonomy while relating to nature as a significant entity. Leonardo Boff, a Catholic thinker, refers to this process as a sacramental way of thinking; Tillich calls it a new (believing) realism and/or theonomy. Here, we term it the rationality of grace, that is, a rationality based on relationality instead of domination. This overcomes dichotomies through a comprehensive and reconciliatory way of knowing, thinking, and communicating. In summary, the article aims to demonstrate the development of this theme in Paul Tillich’s thought and discuss it in light of the challenges posed by the contemporary paradigm and the contributions that theology and religious studies can offer to the general epistemology of humanity and the ecosystem.

KEYWORDS: Paul Tillich. Modernity. Capitalism. Nature. Grace.