CFP: Kantian Journal. Special Issue "Immanuel Kant on Jesus Christ and Christianity"

Kant’s attitude toward Jesus Christ and Christianity has received little attention in contemporary Kant studies. Among studies of Kant’s philosophy of religion today, as for a long time before, the leading topics include the critique of the proofs for the existence of God and its influence on the subsequent development of theology, the moral religion of reason and its specific features, ethical-theology, the concept of the highest good, philosophical theology and its tasks, theodicy, and the concept of radical evil. Meanwhile, more specific issues of Kant’s interpretation of the dogmas fundamental to the Christian faith are overlooked by contemporary researchers. This is also true for the dogma of the God-manhood of Jesus Christ, his resurrection, and ascension, which are equally important for all Christian denominations. However, in Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason, Kant devotes an entire section to Jesus Christ and the “ideal of a humanity well-pleasing to God” which has been incarnated by Him (AA 6, pp. 60–78). The God-manhood of Jesus Christ, his resurrection, and ascension are also discussed in The Conflict of the Faculties (AA 7, pp. 38–39). The ideal of “perfect humanity” is also discussed in the Critique of Pure Reason (B 596 / A 568). So, what role does Jesus Christ play in Kant’s philosophy? How far does Kant’s interpretation of His God-manhood depart from the traditional Christian understanding, and how does it relate to the interpretations of this dogma that were common among Enlightenment theologians? Is faith in Jesus Christ as the God-man, his resurrection, and ascension truly essential for Christianity, or is it perfectly conceivable, according to Kant, without it? And can Kant’s moral religion exist without relying on Jesus Christ as the ideal of humanity well-pleasing to God? These and related issues are to be examined in the special issue “Immanuel Kant on Jesus Christ and Christianity”.

Guest Editor – Prof. Dr Ludmila Kryshtop

The issue (Kantian Journal, Vol. 46, No. 1) will be published by the end of March 2027.