Controversial issues of Paul Tillich’s cultural theology in the light of Orthodox theology
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51216/2687-072X_2026_1_14-33Keywords:
theology of culture, ontology of religion, ultimate interest, symbol theory, existentialism, Orthodoxy, and the Russian Revolution.Abstract
This article discusses the key points of Lutheran theologian Paul Tillich’s concept of the theology of culture. Today, given the relevance of traditional values, the question of the connection between culture and religion, and between culture and Christianity, is increasingly pressing.
In the mid-20th century, the German theologian, forced to emigrate to the United States due to tragic events in Germany, developed a profound conception oriented toward existentialist philosophy. A sharp critic of liberal Protestant theology, which attempted to dissolve religion into culture, he nevertheless offered in his works his own profound explanation of the interaction between religion and culture.
Based on an ontological understanding of the phenomenon of religion, oriented toward Augustine of Hippo, Bonaventure, and others, Tillich proposes a new methodology for uncovering the connections between religion and culture through the concept of ultimate interest. In this sense, culture is permeated with religious intentions. His formula, “religion is the substance of culture, and culture is the form of religion,” has generated numerous discussions and new attempts to understand the interconnectedness of these fundamental forms of human activity.
This article analyzes Tillich’s concept of the symbol, oriented toward C. G. Jung’s notion of the collective unconscious, and draws analogies with the understanding of the symbol in Russian religious philosophy. The work also presents Tillich’s views on Orthodoxy, the Orthodox icon, and the Bolshevik Revolution. The author concludes: Paul Tillich’s attitude toward Orthodoxy and Russian culture as a whole is characterized by a peculiar mixture of attraction and repulsion.
For citation: Katasonov V. N. Controversial issues of Paul Tillich’s cultural theology in the light of Orthodox theology // Theological Collection of Tambov Theological Seminary, 2026, no. 1 (34), pp. 14-33. (In Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.51216/2687-072X_2026_1_14-33 EDN: WCENEY
Received 22 October 2026.
Accepted for press 02 February 2026.
Funding: This research did not receive any external funding.
Conflict of interest: The author declare that there are no conflicts of interest present.
The content is available under a license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
ISSN 2687-072Х
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