Vad innebär agape och agapekultivering? En studie av samtida agapeteologi från feministteologiskt och psykologiskt perspektiv

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to explore and develop how the Christian conception of love as agape can be understood in light of feminist concerns, and how it can be cultivated in light of psychological research. Traditionally, agape has been defined as unconditional self-sacrifice for the sake of the other. Feminist theologians have highlighted repeatedly that an ethical principle of self-sacrifice might not be liberating for groups who have already internalized pressure to sacrifice their own needs for others. The main research questions are: 1) How may agape be understood in light of feminist concerns about its traditional interpretations? 2) How could a Christian community cultivate a form of agape that is responsive to feminist concerns? In order to answer these questions, the first part of the dissertation examines feminist concerns regarding discussion of agape, and then uses these concerns as a lens for analysing four themes in contemporary accounts of agape: community, care, humility, and mentalization. The second part of the dissertation then engages with contemporary research in psychology in order to develop accounts of practices through which a Christian community could cultivate agape. The conclusion to which the dissertation builds is that agape can be understood as a humble, selfdecentering but empowering form of care, a collective power that passionately desires the flourishing of the other, rather than a form of self-sacrifice. It is an affective collective dynamic of humble care that includes an embodied, mentalized, critical analysis that empowers agency against injustice and exploitation, the cultivation of which is the core of a divine desire for the Christian community.