Basic Thematic Lines of the Reception of Kierkegaard in Twentieth Century Theology

The reception of Kierkegaard’s thought in twentieth century theology was extremely varied and complex. One can, however, identify in it thematic lines which originated largely due to the fact that theologians reflected not only on Kierkegaard’s primary work but also on its secondary reception in their contemporaries and predecessors. The repeated emphasis on certain moments of Kierkegaard’s thought led to the emergence of  an intellectual continuity within the theological reception. I present four basic thematic lines in the article which run through the theological reception in different denominational and linguistic environments. The key motifs of these lines are the image of Kierkegaard as a representative of engaged Christianity, the interpretation of his thought as a corrective of the immanentization of theology, the reception of his concept of the relationship between Christianity and culture, and the discussion of his concept of the single individual. These reception lines contain both positive and negative moments, since Kierkegaard was perceived in an ambivalent way. His thought represented, however, an important source of inspiration for twentieth century theology which used it in its confrontation with the issues of its time.

Keywords: S. Kierkegaard; Theology of the Twentieth Century; History of Reception; Existential Philosophy