icon-symbol-logout-darkest-grey

Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological PromiseDistinction for Ten Young Scholars

Press Release No. 42/2022
25 May 2022

Presentation of Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise

Ten young scholars are to be honoured for their outstanding dissertations or first post-doctoral book publication on the topic of “God and Spirituality”. They have been selected to receive the Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise, which comes with prize money of 3,000 euros each. The prize-winners from Germany and abroad include Dennis Dietz and Patrick Ebert, two young researchers at Heidelberg University. To mark the occasion, the Research Centre for International and Interdisciplinary Theology (FIIT) of Ruperto Carola is hosting an award ceremony on Friday 27 May 2022. A colloquium featuring the prize-winners will follow, with participants including FIIT members and some of the 20 international referees who evaluated the scholarly publications submitted.

The award ceremony will begin with introductory words from Prof. Dr Philipp Stoellger, dean of the Faculty of Theology, Prof. Dr Dr Michael Welker, FIIT director, and Dr h.c. Manfred Lautenschläger, who donated the prize. Then three Heidelberg theologians will present the recipients and their publications, before the prizes are awarded. The keynote speaker is Prof. Dr Dirk J. Smit from Princeton Theological Seminary in the USA, and formerly from Stellenbosch University (South Africa). In his address (in English) “On Theological Promise”, Prof. Smit, who is regarded as one of the most eminent contemporary South African theologians, will relate this theme to what is expected of the prize-winners.

Those receiving the distinction for 2022 are – besides Dennis Dietz and Patrick Ebert from Heidelberg University – Jeremiah Coogan (University of Notre Dame), Emily Dubie (Duke University), Simon Dürr (University of St Andrews), Christoph Heilig (University of Zurich), Stanislau Paulau (University of Göttingen), Samuel Pomeroy (Leiden University), Justin David Strong (University of Notre Dame) und Calvin D. Ullrich (Stellenbosch University). During the colloquium they will present future research projects and discuss them with the referees and members of the Research Centre for International and Interdisciplinary Theology.

The Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise goes annually to ten young scholars from all over the world working in different disciplines, such as theology, philosophy, religious studies, ethics and related subjects.

Note for newsrooms:

The presentation of the Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise on 27 May 2022 will be held in the Great Hall of the Old University, starting at 3 p.m. Representatives of the media are warmly invited to attend and report on it. The colloquium with the prize-winners will take place on 28 and 30 May in the International Academic Forum of Heidelberg University. If you would like to attend and report on the award ceremony or the colloquium, please notify christine.boeckmann@ts.uni-heidelberg.de.