Rethinking religion, theology, and what really matters: The ultimate concerns of essential work

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown new light on the nature of inequality as a global problem and highlighted the importance of essential work. This has implications for reassessing what really matters in people's lives, related to what systematic and constructive theologians, following Paul Tillich, have called matters of "ultimate concern". What do such reassessments mean for rethinking the role and function of religion, with a view towards what religion can contribute to the formation of feasible alternatives? The article concludes by spelling out some vital lessons for the work of theology and related fields.