Abstract:
The current upheavals in the world of work become one of the central themes of the reflections
in social sciences. Many authors raise questions about the results of shrinking employment,
growing digitalisation, demands of new skills meeting the challenges of the oncoming
economic order, to mention just a few from a broad range of processes and phenomena. It is
also an essential motive of the Christian Churches’ social teaching, for instance, for the
Evangelical Church in Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland [EKD]). The church
offers a comprehensive and relevant vision of human work, linking the social and political
teaching of the Protestant Reformation and contemporary theological, sociological and
sociopolitical conceptions. The article aims to outline the evangelical interpretation of the
transformations in human work and asks how inspirations of Reformation theology are
applied to today’s critical issues concerning these transformations. It also discusses the
category of the culture of work as vocation and considers its potential for a broader discussion
on the topic. The primary sources of the reflection are the relevant documents of the EKD
(Denkschrifts), recently published.
CONTRIBUTION : The theological interpretation and proposals of the Evangelical Church in
Germany contribute to the global discussion on the transformations in the sphere of work,
particularly when examining the sociological and political potential of the category of the
culture of work as vocation. The research addresses the focus and scope of the journal for the
promotion of multidisciplinary aspects of studies in the general theological area.
Description:
This research is part of the
research project, ‘Biblical
Theology and Hermeneutics’,
directed by Prof. Dr Andries
van Aarde, Post Retirement
Professor and Senior
Research Fellow in the Dean’s
Office, Faculty of Theology
and Religion, University of
Pretoria.
Special Collection: Scholarly Voices, sub-edited by Yolanda Dreyer (University of Pretoria).
