Theopoetics is an interdisciplinary field that combines creative expression, literary imagination, and theological reflection. Instead of treating theology as a rigid system of dry dogmas or abstract rules, theopoetics treats speaking about God as an active, artistic process of making meaning through poetry, story, and embodied human experience.
Core Ideas
- Aesthetics over Dogma: Prioritizes artistic style, metaphor, and mystery over rigid definitions and absolute certainty.
- Embodied and Lived: Focuses on real human bodies, community actions, and emotional wisdom rather than just text on a page.
- Expanded Texts: Views film, dance, music, hip-hop, and visual art as valid containers for shaping our understanding of the sacred.
History and Development
- Origins: Coined in the 1960s and 1970s by thinkers like Stanley Romaine Hopper and Amos Wilder as a third way creative response to rigid theological systems and the “Death of God” movement.
- Revival: Re-emerged powerfully in the 1990s and 2000s, drawing from process philosophy and postmodern thought to foster inclusive, socially engaged spiritual communities. Organizations like Arts, Religion, and Culture continue to study and shape this modern discourse
Cornelia van Voorst 