Vahey, K: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of a Divine Symbol

Theology, like culture, is dynamic and thereforeought to be examined concurrently with socialmovement as it takes place. At the same time,because theology like culture is dynamic, campaignsfor social justice that provide theologicalreasons for its mobilizing message willarticulate a relevant language to stimulate acommunity and direct a mindset for social change.Paul Tillich‘s Method of Correlation aims to connectthe questions produced through the analysis of modernculture with the answers provided by the symbols usedin the Christian message. This method is applied toan examination of theological reasoning behind theRight to Life social movement (RTLM) to exhibit howpro-life language has an inherent connection toTillich‘s articulation of symbols and to show howthis movement has shaped the political and religiousnature of the modern United States. This premise aimsto contribute a new dimension to the evaluation ofthe pro-life argument, and demonstrate that inviewing social activism through a Tillichian lens wesee the necessity for evaluating theology and culturein tandem.