There are numerous books that offer an historical account of Anglican theology or that detail the lives and work of particular Anglican theologians. Books that focus on the nature and character of Anglican theology itself, however, are hard to find. Scott MacDougall fills that gap with his book The Shape of Anglican Theology: Faith Seeking Wisdom. He examines what makes Anglican theology Anglican, beginning with how Anglican theology does and does not differ from other types of Christian theology.

Ultimately he contends that Anglican theology is best understood, not as faith seeking understanding as Anselm famously said, but as faith seeking wisdom. This wisdom is chiefly concerned with discerning faithful ways of being Christian in circumstances where clear answers to complicated questions can be difficult to find.

Join Malcolm Clemens Young, Dean of Grace Cathedral, for a conversation with MacDougall about what makes Anglican theology Anglican, and being faithful in a complicated world.

Listen

Spirituality x Activism | Scott MacDougall

The Forum will be posted on our Youtube and Apple Podcast channels.   

Join Us

Registration is recommended but not required.  You can also click on this Webinar Link to watch The Forum.

About the Guest

Dr. Scott MacDougall is Core Doctoral Faculty in the Theology and Ethics Department of the Graduate Theological Union and Associate Professor of Theology at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, both in Berkeley, CA. He was born and raised in Central New York. He attended college in the greater New York City area, receiving his B.A. from Hofstra University. Following a career in the not-for-profit sector, he undertook the formal study of theology. MacDougall received his M.A. in theology from the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in 2007 and his Ph.D. in systematic theology from Fordham University in 2014. His research centers on two main trajectories: (1) constructive theological work in ecclesiology, eschatology, and embodiment; and (2) the nature and character of Anglican theology and the role of theology in the Anglican Communion. He is interested in the difference a well-formed and engaged theological imagination makes in how Christians live out their vocations, individually and corporately, and in how doing so contributes to the flourishing of self, church, and world. His first book, More Than Communion: Imagining an Eschatological Ecclesiology, was published in 2015. His most recent, The Shape of Anglican Theology: Faith Seeking Wisdom, was published by Brill in 2022. He has also authored a number of articles and book reviews. At the American Academy of Religion, he co-chairs the Anglican Studies Seminar and serves on the steering committee of the Ecclesiological Investigations Unit. MacDougall has served as Co-Editor in Chief of the Anglican Theological Review and was the inaugural Theologian to the House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church.

About the Moderator

The Very Rev. Dr. Malcolm Clemens Young is the dean of Grace Cathedral. He is the author of The Spiritual Journal of Henry David Thoreau and The Invisible Hand in Wilderness: Economics, Ecology, and God, and is a regular contributor on religion to the Huffington Post and San Francisco Examiner.

About The Forum

The Forum is a series of stimulating conversations about faith and ethics in relation to the important issues of our day. We invite inspiring and illustrious people to sit down for a real conversation with the Forum’s host and with you. Our guests range from artists, inventors, and philosophers to pop culturists and elected officials, but the point of The Forum is singular: civil, sophisticated discourse that engages minds and hearts to think in new ways about the world.  More about Grace Forum Online.

Give to Grace

You can help us bring the arts to life at Grace with a gift today to The Forum. Click here to give.   

Become a GraceArts Member

Love engaging dialogue? We offer a special cultural membership program, GraceArts, focused exclusively on the arts and well-being. GraceArts allows a wider community to belong to and support Grace, with discounts and benefits on a robust schedule of events. Learn more and join!