Creativity and Public Bridges

By Callid Keefe-Perry

The work of public theology as an academic field is concerned with figuring out how to live one’s faith “out loud” in public in such a way that it nurtures the Common Good and acknowledges the reality of religious pluralism and cultural difference. It is about finding ways to communicate about the things we hold most dear to those who may have little-to-no concern about those same things. How can we—Public Theology might ask—find areas of shared concern so that we might labor together for some greater good even though we do not all agree on doctrinal details?

Some scholars suggest that the best way to do this is through rational discourse and competition in the “marketplace of ideas.” This line of reasoning acknowledges, for example, that trying to convince people to do something because “the Bible says so” is hardly likely to convince those who don’t consider the Bible authoritative. Instead of relying on the weight of arguments that depend upon the assumption that religious thinking matters, public theology tries to communicate in ways that are accessible to those with whom we share society but not religious convictions. Generally the strategy usually tries to find a balance between (a) rational lines of argument that appeal to shared cultural common denominators and are broadly intelligible to multiple sub-sections of society and (b) finding a way to say things such that there is still some mark of distinctive religious identity.

Having the intention to speak in ways that attempt to bridge difference is to be lauded. But I do think that in the name of our incarnational faith, we certainly can be served by greater attention to our bodies, our feelings, and the ways in which who we are is more than just “neck up” rationalism and cognitive processes. I believe that creativity, active imagination, and affect can be just as important as reason to who we are as people of faith and how we can communicate with others about the things we care about most. This assumption was the foundation of my recent Education Beyond the Walls workshop, “Made in the Image of a Maker.”

In this workshop, we considered some of the ways that creative practices and the arts might be used by congregations to create spaces in which there would be room for emotion, storytelling, play, and a sense of wonder. Are “the arts” a cure for all that ails us as a society? Certainly not. But they can sometimes reach the hearts, minds, and spirits of community members in ways that rationality does not. In a time when there is so much that divides our communities, using more tools in our repertoire that might help us to build bridges seems like a wise decision.

Dr. Callid Keefe-Perry is assistant professor of contextual education and public theology at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry. He is a traveling minister in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and a long-time advocate for the arts as ways of deepening spiritual practice. He thinks it is OK for religious people to laugh a lot, that power cedes nothing without demands, and that creativity is a vital quality of adaptive and effective leadership.