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