Jeremy D. Posadas a PhD student and Graduate Fellow in the Graduate Division of Religion (GDR) of Emory University (Atlanta, GA). Since August 2006 he has been a member of both the Person, Community, and Religious Life (PCRL) Program and the Initiative in Religious Practices and Practical Theology. He specializes in practical theology, with a focus on the nexus between Christian congregational practices and political practices. This was the focus of his first presentation to the American Academy of Religion (Practical Theology Group), in November 2007: “‘I Have a Dream,’ ‘People Power,’ ‘¡Sí, se puede!’: Worship, Politics, and Repertoires of Performed Public Life in US and Philippine Contexts.” Additionally, in terms of method, he wants to contribute to (practical) theology’s fuller engagement with contemporary social theory. For instance, he explores the work of Michel Foucault, as in his recent presentation at the 2008 Social Theory Forum at UMass Boston: “‘Political Spirituality in Iran: What Was Foucault Talking About?”
In May 2006, Union Theological Seminary (New York, NY) conferred on Posadas both the MDiv degree in Hebrew Bible and its highest student honor, the Travelling Fellowship. During his three years at Union, Posadas engaged in a full range of theological studies, focusing on both worship and preaching (with Profs. Janet Walton and Barbara Lundblad) and Bible (with Profs. Alan Cooper, the late Wyn Wright, Brigitte Kahl, and David Carr). His master’s thesis, “Between Piety and Polity: Retrospect and Prospect for Christians and Justice in the Psalms,” brings together history-of-interpretation and liturgical perspectives on the Psalms.
While at Union he also worked at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of Manhattan, an intentionally multiracial, multiclass, bilingual, LGBTQ-inclusive congregation straddling the public housing and private condos of Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Posadas was pastoral associate to the Rev. Heidi B. Neumark, author of Breathing Space: A Spiritual Journey in the South Bronx. Among his responsibilities were planning and coordinating worship; codeveloping a comprehensive program of ministry with and for children and youth; and codirecting two years of grant from the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship. In addition, under the auspices of Interfaith Worker Justice, he interned as a clergy organizer for SEIU Local 32BJ, the largest building-service union in the US. He continues to work for justice within the Lutheran church, advocating for an end to the denomination’s sexuality-based discrimination.
Posadas took the AB degree with honors at the University of Chicago, in the unique Fundamentals: Issues and Texts program. He wrote his bachelor’s essay, “Socrates in the Apology: Justice in the Individual,” with Prof. Danielle S. Allen. Posadas was the first student to speak in the University’s “What Matters to Me and Why” series, alongside senior professors and administrators. In Spring 2003 he was recognized by one of the University’s most prestigious undergraduate honors, for combining “excellence in pursuit of studies with a profound sense of social responsibility.” During his undergraduate studies, Posadas also worked in the Division of Family Support Services of Children’s Memorial Hospital, one of the top pediatric centers in the Midwest.
Posadas was born in California and raised in Washington State.
