Grant Kaplan, Ph.D.
Professor of Theology
Courses Taught
Atheism and Christianity, Theological Method, Theological Foundations, Nineteenth-Century Religious Thought in Germany
Education
Ph.D. in Systematic Theology, Boston College, 2003
B.A. in History and Theology, Boston College, 1996
Additional studies in T眉bingen (1996鈥�97) and Fribourg (2002鈥�03)
Practice Areas
Religion and violence, anti-Catholicism, the Vatican, mimetic theory, German theology
Research Interests
- nineteenth-century religious thought
- theologies of tradition
- mimetic theory
- German Catholic theology
Labs and Facilities
Publications and Media Placements
Books
- Oxford History of Modern German Theology, Volume 1: 1781鈥�1848, edited by Grant Kaplan and Kevin Vander Schel (Oxford University Press, 2023).
- Faith and Reason through Christian History: A Theological Essay (Catholic University of America Press, 2022).
- Ren茅 Girard, Unlikely Apologist: Mimetic Theory and Fundamental Theology (University of Notre Dame Press, 2016; 2022 in paperback).
- Answering the Enlightenment: The Catholic Recovery of Historical Revelation (Crossroad/Herder, 2006).
- 鈥淓苍丑补苍肠颈苍驳 Ressourcement: Johann Adam M枚hler鈥檚 Retrieval of Anselm,鈥� in Theological Studies 84:2 (2023): 312鈥�36.
- 鈥淓scalation to Academic Extremes? Revisiting Academic Rivalry in the M枚hler/Baur Debate,鈥� in Contagion: Journal of Violence, Mimesis, and Culture 30 (Spring 2023). 163鈥�82.
- 鈥淩evisiting Johannes Eck: The Leipzig Debate as the Beginning of the Reformation,鈥� in Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture 24:2 (March 2021): 73鈥�97.
- 鈥淟ocating Newman: Faith and Reason in Newman and the Johannes Kuhn,鈥� in Newman Studies Journal 16:2 (2019): 5鈥�27.
- 鈥淒id Schelling Live on in Catholic Theology? An Examination of his Influence on Catholic T眉bingen,鈥� in International Journal of Philosophy and Theology 80:1 (2019): 57鈥�70.
- 鈥淲hat Has Prussia to Do with T眉bingen? The Political-Ecclesial Context of M枚hler鈥檚 Symbolik,鈥� in Pro Ecclesia 27:1 (2018): 81鈥�112.
- Retrieval and Renewal: Chenu, the T眉bingen School, and the Renewal of Theological Method in Optatam Totius,鈥� in Theological Studies 77:3 (September 2016): 567鈥�92.
- Between Rome and T眉bingen: Rethinking Johann Adam M枚hler鈥檚 Political Theology,鈥� in Journal of Church and State 58:2 (Spring 2016): 234鈥�60.
- 鈥淰atican II as a Constitutional Text of Faith,鈥� in Horizons 41:1 (June 2014): 1鈥�21. Book Chapters
Book Chapters (last five years)
- 鈥淒oes the Neckar Flow into the Tiber? Walter Kasper's Reading of the Roman School,鈥� in The Roman School Then and Now, eds. Levering, Pidel, and Anderson (Brill, 2024).
- 鈥淢odernity and Postmodernity,鈥� in The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Catholicism, 2nd edition, eds. Bauerschmidt, Buckley, Martin, and Pomplun (Wiley-Blackwell, 2024).
- 鈥淪chleiermacher鈥檚 Influence on Roman Catholic Theology,鈥� in Oxford Handbook of Friedrich Schleiermacher, eds. Dole, Poe, and Vander Schel (Oxford University Press, 2023), 557鈥�74.
- 鈥淭he Catholic T眉bingen School in its First Generation,鈥� in Oxford History of Modern German Theology. Volume 1: 1781鈥�1848, eds. Grant Kaplan and Kevin Vander Schel (Oxford University Press, 2023), 422鈥�38.
- 鈥淩en茅 Girard,鈥� in The New Apologetics: Defending the Faith in a Post-Christian Era, ed. Matthew Nelson (Park Ridge, IL: Word on Fire, 2022), 101鈥�5.
- 鈥淭heology as鈥�Wissenschaft鈥痠n the Catholic T眉bingen School: J.S. Drey and J. Kuhn,鈥� in Theology, History, and the Modern University, eds. Michael DeJonge and Kevin Vander Schel (Mohr Siebeck, 2021), 115鈥�34.
- (with Holly Taylor Coolman) 鈥淭he Development of Doctrine: The T眉bingen School and John Henry Newman鈥� in Oxford Handbook of Catholic Theology, eds. Lewis Ayres and Medi Volpe (Oxford University Press, 2019): 612鈥�29.
Public Theology (Selections from Last Decade)
- 鈥淎 Crisis in Catholic Theology鈥� in America Magazine 224:7 (June 2021), 20鈥�25.
- Interview: Cesar Chavez鈥檚 Lawyer on the Faith and Nonviolence That Led to the Best Labor Law in the Country鈥�
- 鈥淕irard, Scapegoating, and the Antidote to Annihilation鈥� Interview in (22 April, 2021)
- 鈥淩en茅 Girard: The Last Nietzschean,鈥� in (23 December, 2020)
- 鈥淪ecularism as Sexism,鈥� in First Things (August/September, 2020): 59鈥�61.
- 鈥淲hat 19th-Century German anti-Catholicism Can Teach Us about Our Own Church,鈥� in America Magazine 221:7 (30 September, 2019): 36鈥�39.
- 鈥淐elebrating 200 Years of Catholic Theology鈥檚 Oldest Journal,鈥� in (4 March, 2019).
- 鈥淔rom T眉bingen to the Tiber: An Interview with Peter H眉nermann,鈥� in Commonweal 143 (7 October, 2016): 25鈥�29.
- 鈥淐elibacy as Political Resistance,鈥� in First Things 239 (January, 2014): 49鈥�54.
Honors and Awards
- Humboldt Foundation, Experienced Researcher Grant, eleven months (2015鈥�2016)
- Humboldt Foundation, Renewed Research Stay, three months (Berlin, summer 2019)
- National Institute of Newman Studies, Experienced Scholar Grant, two weeks (2018, 2023)
Professional Organizations and Associations
- American Academy of Religion
- Catholic Theological Society of America
- Colloquium on Violence & Religion