July 8-12, 2024; Oxford, U.K.

A cohort of thirteen scholars from around the world will meet for a seminar from July 8-12, 2024 in Oxford, England to explore the writings of Abraham Kuyper on business and economics and bridge them to 21st century teaching, scholarship, and practices. The goal is to enrich Christian perspectives on economic life for Christian teacher/scholars among INCHE network members. This focus is essential for Christian universities and colleges in teaching their students about the economic sphere of living and leadership. The seminar is organized and will be hosted in cooperation with the Centre for Enterprise, Markets, and Ethics, a U.K. charity focus on the intersection of theology, business, and economics.

The Focus on Abraham Kuyper’s writings

Abraham Kuyper was a remarkable pastor, theologian, journalist, and political leader in the Netherlands at the beginning of the twentieth century. He left an extensive body of written scholarship with deep Biblical and theological reflections on education and other social matters. His November 1891 speech to the first Christian Social Congress in the Netherlands, titled The Problem of Poverty, in its English translation, is a substantial Christian analysis of capitalism and socialism as competing economic systems. He carefully separates Christian values and beliefs from ultimate loyalty to any one system of economic life. Instead, Kuyper focuses on the deep Christian responsibilities of individuals, families, churches, and societies in any economic system.

Yet the remainder of Kuyper’s writings about business and economic life were hidden from global readers until Peter Heslam and others completed translation of additional Kuyper writings into English. . The English language book Abraham Kuyper on Business and Economics (Lexham Press, 2021), includes his positive, critical, and creative ideas about economic freedom, the eternal value of earthly work, stewardship and philanthropy, economic globalization, the workings of God’s grace in business, and the social function of money. This English publication on business and economics creates a special opportunity to learn about Christian perspectives on economic life and consider 21st century approaches to our teaching and scholarship in these fields.

Seminar Goals

The specific goals of this seminar are four-fold:

·        To expand participant knowledge of Kuyper’s Biblical and theological thinking about economic life among those who can utilize it in Christian universities, colleges, and seminaries worldwide.

·        To bring Kuyper’s Christian commentary into conjunction with new challenges in a 21st century globally connected economy with its mix of markets, governments, and other powerful actors. How do we teach Christian frameworks for economic choices and business leadership amid concerns about consumerism and resources, global poverty, digitization, the role of large multinational businesses, justice in taxation, and climate change?  

·        To enrich Christian professional development of current professors of business and economic life within INCHE member universities, colleges, and seminaries, including in the Majority World.

·        To build Christian relationships among worldwide teachers/scholars in the fields of business and economics. By building such connections, we develop and sustain shared perspectives on Christian faith related to business and economics as we address 21st century questions.

This seminar will be organized and directed by Jordan Ballor, a preeminent Kuyper scholarly and Director of Research for the Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy; Richard Turnbull, Director of the Centre for Enterprise, Markets, and Ethics; and Shirley Roels, former business professor and Executive Director of INCHE. They will be assisted by Peter Heslam, editor of the 2021 book on these topics.