Lemons, “An Introduction to Theologically Engaged Anthropology”
Abstract: The burgeoning field of theologically engaged anthropology has facilitated an overdue dialogue among anthropologists and theologians. The theologically engaged anthropology project created the stratified and transformational research frameworks. The stratified framework encourages anthropologists and theologians to collaborate on common religious topics while maintaining boundaries between each discipline, lest each loses its integrity. The transformational framework encourages anthropologists and theologians to cross the border between their two disciplines to facilitate discovery of new insights about religion. This special journal issue of Ethnos presents multiple examples of theologically engaged anthropology that illustrate the value of both frameworks. In this introduction, I invite readers to observe four themes that emerge from the papers. Each illustrates the value of additional theologically engaged scholarship.