Harvey Gallagher Cox Jr. (born May 19, 1929) is an American
theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
who served as the
Hollis Professor of Divinity The Hollis Chair of Divinity is an endowed chair at Harvard Divinity School. It was established in 1721 by Thomas Hollis, a wealthy English merchant and benefactor of the university, at a salary of £80 per year. It is the oldest endowed chair in t ...
at
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...
, until his retirement in October 2009. Cox's research and teaching focus on theological developments in
world Christianity
World Christianity or global Christianity has been defined both as a term that attempts to convey the global nature of the Christian religion and an academic field of study that encompasses analysis of the histories, practices, and discourses of C ...
, including
liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". In ...
and the role of Christianity in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
.
Biography
Cox was born on May 19, 1929, in
Phoenixville
Phoenixville is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Philadelphia at the junction of French Creek and the Schuylkill River. It is in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The population is 18,616 ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, to Dorothea Cox and Harvey Gallagher. He was raised in
Malvern
Malvern or Malverne may refer to:
Places Australia
* Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide
* Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne
* City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne
* Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...
, Pennsylvania. After a stint in the
US Merchant Marine
United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...
, Cox attended the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
and graduated in 1951 with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree with honors in
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
. He went on to earn a
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...
degree from
Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...
in 1955, and a
Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
degree in the history and philosophy of religion from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1963.
Cox was ordained as an
American Baptist American Baptist may refer to:
* American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA), formed (as the Northern Baptist Convention) in 1907
* American Baptist Association, formed 1924
* American Baptist College, Nashville, Tennessee, formed 1924 by the National B ...
minister in 1957, and started teaching as an assistant
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
at the
Andover Newton Theological School in
. He then began teaching at
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...
(HDS) in 1965 and in 1969 became a full professor. He was to become "the single most heeded professor in religion at Harvard."
Cox became widely known with the publication of ''
The Secular City
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
'' in 1965. It became immensely popular and influential for a book on theology, selling over one million copies. Cox developed the thesis that the church is primarily a people of faith and action, rather than an institution. He argued that "God is just as present in the
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
as the religious realms of life". Thus, the original title was ''God and the Secular City'', which "he still believes… would have more accurately described the book's theme." Far from being a protective religious community, the church should be in the forefront of change in society, celebrating the new ways religiosity is finding expression in the world. Phrases such as "intrinsic conservatism prevents the denominational churches from leaving their palaces behind and stepping into God's permanent revolution in history" were viewed as threatening to the ''
status quo
is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...
'' by some, or seen as an embrace of the social revolution of the 1960s. Cox revisited his topic in ''Religion in the Secular City: Toward a Post-Modern Theology'' in 1984. In 1990, a twenty-fifth anniversary edition of ''The Secular City'' was published.
After his international best seller, Cox thought he may have "peaked" too soon at age 34, as he experienced a "second book crisis," but he then wrote ''The Feast of Fools'' (1969), which he has said "still remains my own favorite ... the 'one book' I recommend to people who ask me at parties which ''one'' of my books they should crack." Originally Cox presented it as the William Belden Noble Lecture at Harvard in 1968, which included music, dance, film, and balloons; and Cox himself was known to play the tenor saxophone in a jazz ensemble called The Embraceables. Celebrating his new book as Dionysian in playful dynamic with ''The Secular City'' as Apollonian, he said "there is an unnecessary gap in today's world between the world changers and the life-celebrators," thus promoting a "proleptic liberation as a festive radical."
In 1973, Cox wrote ''The Seduction of the Spirit'', which he said "has the best first chapter of anything I have ever written (about my boyhood in Malvern, Pennsylvania, the churches there and my baptism)," but he added it went "downhill" from there.
In ''Turning East'' (1977), Cox describes his teaching at the Naropa Institute in
Boulder
In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive.
In c ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, where his mind and soul were challenged by the Buddhist "dharma", and he enjoyed doing research in Asian religious movements.
At times Cox has been criticized as "faddish", responding to the current "hot topics", against which he has asserted he is responding to the pastoral issues of the church confronting the world; and he sees himself as a "church theologian", influenced by
Karl Barth
Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declara ...
's ''
Church Dogmatics
''Church Dogmatics'' () is the four-volume theological summa and ''magnum opus'' of Swiss Protestant theologian Karl Barth
Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the R ...
''; for in fact Cox entered HDS as a faculty member in the Department of the Church and later served as the Chair of the Department of Applied Theology. Throughout his years as a church theologian, Cox was "visible, indeed as no other on the Divinity faculty."
Cox became the first to introduce
liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". In ...
at HDS, with its understanding of Jesus the Liberator and God's preference for the poor, drawing on his first-hand experience in a training center in Venezuela. Later he would defend
Leonardo Boff
Leonardo Boff (, born 14 December 1938), born as Genézio Darci Boff (), is a Brazilian theologian, philosopher writer, and former Catholic priest known for his active support for Latin American liberation theology. He currently serves as Prof ...
, a Latin American theologian, in his book ''The Silencing of Leonardo Boff: The Vatican and Future Christianity'' (1988).
Cox was notably concerned with the encounter of Christianity with
religious pluralism
Religious pluralism is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religious belief systems co-existing in society. It can indicate one or more of the following:
* Recognizing and tolerating the religious diversity of a society or coun ...
, especially as the Center for the Study of World Religions at HDS offered opportunities for engagement with scholars of different faiths, which he wrote about in ''Many Mansions: A Christian's Encounter with Other Faiths'' (1988), his book that advocated speaking in
interfaith dialogue
Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...
from your own Christian identity as part of the discussion.
In keeping with his alertness to
global Christianity, Cox was drawn to the ecumenical nature of
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement in Protestantism, Catholicism, and Orthodoxy, that he wrote about in his book ''Fire From Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-First Century'' (1995), which might be useful for academic Christianity as well as the church and its leaders as they encounter the challenge of Pentecostalism. Thus, Cox has maintained that HDS is an ecumenical seminary, not a nondenominational seminary, at which students from different faiths engage in dialogue and do not seek a generic form of religion or Christianity.
An outgrowth of Cox's second marriage to Nina Tumarkin, a devout Jew and a professor of Russian history at Wellesley College, was his book ''Common Prayers: Faith, Family, and a Christian's Journey Through the Jewish Year'' (2002), which is a look at the Jewish year through its major holidays, as seen by him an outsider who is an equally devout Christian.
Thus, it is difficult to adequately present Cox's life and career in a short biography, for he "already is, like
(Paul) Tillich and several others on the same Divinity faculty, subject to extensive treatment, on all continents, and in the case of Cox, notably in Central and South America."
In
Taylor Branch
Taylor Branch (born January 14, 1947) is an American author and historian who wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning trilogy chronicling the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and much of the history of the American civil rights movement. The final volume o ...
's history, ''
Parting the Waters'', Branch notes that Cox hosted a dinner at which
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
was introduced to people who would become some of his closest colleagues and advisors as a civil rights activist.
Cox retired in September 2009 in a well publicized ceremony and celebration. His new book, ''The Future of Faith'' was released to coincide with his retirement. ''The Future of Faith'' explores three important trends in Christianity's 2,000 years. He views the religion's first three centuries as the Age of Faith, when followers simply embraced the teachings of Jesus. Then came the Age of Belief, in which church leaders increasingly took control and set acceptable limits on
doctrine
Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system ...
and
orthodoxy
Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.
Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churc ...
. But the last 50 years, Cox contends, welcome in the Age of the Spirit, in which Christians have begun to ignore dogma and embrace
spirituality
The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...
, while finding common threads with other religions.
In ''How to Read the Bible'' (2015), Cox shows how three different ways of approaching the Bible, the narrative (the stories), the historical (the academic), and the spiritual (personal and social) can be reconciled as a contemporary source of enrichment for all.
In 2016, Cox's book ''The Market as God'' was published about business theology, the focus of which is the deification of the market, as for example "the invisible hand", God-like, and the Creator of persons (corporations), God-like.
Books
* ''The Secular City: Secularization and Urbanization in Theological Perspective'' (1965), Collier Books, 25th anniversary edition 1990:
* ''God's Revolution and Man's Responsibilities'' (1966) no ISBN issued
* ''On Not Leaving It to the Snake'' (1967), Macmillan, S.C.M. Press 3rd edition 1968:
* ''The Feast of Fools: A Theological Essay on Festivity and Fantasy'' (1969), Harvard University Press, , Harper & Row 1970 paperback: , HarperCollins 2000 paperback:
*''The Seduction of the Spirit: The Use and Misuse of People's Religion'' (1973), Touchstone edition 1985:
*''Turning East: Why Americans Look to the Orient for Spirituality-And What That Search Can Mean to the West'' (1978), Simon & Schuster,
* .
* ''Religion in the Secular City: Toward a Postmodern Theology'' (1985), Simon & Schuster,
* ''Many Mansions: A Christian's Encounter with Other Faiths'' (1988), Beacon Press reprint 1992:
* ''The Silencing of Leonardo Boff: The Vatican and the Future of World Christianity'' (1988)
* ''Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Re-shaping of Religion in the 21st Century'' (1994), Decapo Press reprint 2001:
* ''Religion in a Secular City: Essays in Honor of Harvey Cox'', Harvey Cox, Arvind Sharma eds. (2001), Trinity Press,
* ''Common Prayers: Faith, Family, and a Christian's Journey Through the Jewish Year'' (2002), Mariner Books, (paperback)
* ''When Jesus Came to Harvard: Making Moral Choices Today'', (2004), Houghton Mifflin, (hardcover)
* ''The Future of Faith'' (2009), HarperOne, (hardcover)
* ''How to Read the Bible'' (2015) HarperOne, (hardcover)
* ''The Market as God'' (2016) Harvard University Press, (hardcover)
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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External links
Official page at Harvard Divinity Schoolby ReadTheSpirit.com
Keynote address by Harvey Cox on: Judaism in the Interfaith Household 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Harvey G.
1929 births
20th-century American theologians
20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States
21st-century American theologians
21st-century Baptist ministers from the United States
American Baptist theologians
Christian Peace Conference members
Harvard Divinity School alumni
Harvard Divinity School faculty
Living people
People from Chester County, Pennsylvania
United States Merchant Mariners
University of Pennsylvania alumni
Yale Divinity School alumni
World Christianity scholars