Center for Islamic Theology

Dipl. theol. Lea Schlenker, M.A.

Doctoral Research Fellow

Research Group “De/Sacralisation of Texts” (FOR 2828)

Member of the Internationalisation Team

[Translate to Englisch:] Profilbild von Lea Schlenker
Office

Hölderlinstr. 29, 72074 Tübingen

 -

lea.schlenkerspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de

Office Hours

by appointment

Research

Main Research Interests

  • Christan-Muslim Dialogue
  • Comparative Theology
  • Embodiment and Practice Theories
  • Intercultural and Ecumenical Theology
  • Women and Religion

PhD project

Working title: Theology at the Table. A study of everyday theology on sharing meals in Sunni adab works and Lutheran hymns

What role does theology play in daily life? And how are everyday practices such as eating and drinking reflected theologically in Islamic and Christian traditions? In my PhD project, I examine Sunni adab literature and Lutheran hymnal songs with the help of concepts like embodiment, practice theory and everyday theology. From a historical and systematic-theological perspective, I explore which theological themes can be found in eating and how these can be applied in religious practice. In a second step, I compare the two traditions, especially regarding their views on God's gifts, the sharing of meals, and dimensions of holiness at meals. Given that the sources can be seen as examples of everyday theology themselves, I elaborate how they convey theological contents. In this way, my PhD adds everyday theology to recent comparative theological approaches. Eventually, it also contributes to the concept of interreligious hospitality by anchoring it in the concrete practice of sharing meals.

Short CV

since 2022
Research Assistant

“The Argument from Scripture” (Prof. Dr. Lejla Demiri), part of the Research Group “De/Sacralisation of Texts” (FOR 2828)

2021
Student Assistant

with Prof. Dr. Lejla Demiri, Chair of Islamic Doctrine, ZITh

2019–2021
M.A. “Islamic Theology in the European Context”

Center for Islamic Theology (ZITh) at University of Tübingen, including a virtual semester abroad at Marmara University (Istanbul, Turkey)

2018–2021
Secretary for Foreign Languages

with Prof. Dr. Lejla Demiri, Chair of Islamic Doctrine, ZITh

2016–2018
Student Assistant

with Prof. Dr. Christoph Schwöbel, Chair of Systematic Theology I, Protestant Faculty

2014–2016
Student Assistant

with Prof. Dr. Michael Tilly, Chair of New Testament Studies I, Protestant Faculty

2012–2017
Scholarship holder at Evangelisches Stift Tübingen
2012–2019
Study of Protestant Theology (Church Examination/Diploma)

Protestant Theological Faculty, University of Tübingen, including semesters abroad at University of Basel (Switzerland) and University of Otago (Dunedin, New Zealand) as well as participation in the 5-week “Study Course Oman” in Masqat

Publications

  • „From shared meals to interreligious conversations“, Current Dialogue. Special Issue of the Ecumenical Review, 73/5 (2021), pp. 702–713.
  • „Die Kirche und der Frieden. Eine protestantische Geschichte des pacem facere“, Friedensethik und Theologie. Systematische Erschließungen eines Fachgebiets aus der Perspektive von Philosophie und christlicher Theologie, eds. Elisabeth Gräb-Schmidt/Julian Zeyher- Quattlender, Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, 2018, pp. 65–79.
  • „Im Dienst an Volk und Kirche. Das Stiftsjubiläum 1936“, Blätter für Württembergische Kirchengeschichte, 116 (2016), pp. 341–374.

Papers and Presentations

  • "Comparing Theologies at the Table. On Perspectives from Religious Studies in Comparative Theology after the Practice Turn", Conference "Comparison and Comparative Theology", Universität Fribourg (CH) (2023)
  • "The Use of Psalm 145:15–16 for Saying Grace in German Lutheran Traditions with Special Consideration of Christian Sermons on the Appendix to the Catechism (Tübingen 1680)", 10th Cambridge-Tübingen Workshop "Network Religious Knowledge in the Early Modern World", Cambridge (UK) (2023)
  • (with Rawdah Gawaher) "Notions of Religious Pluralism in the Writings of Christian and Muslim Scholars: A Cross- Authored Perspective", Symposium: The Religious Other(s), GINGKO / Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Aachen (2023)
  • "Hymns as a Source for Interreligious Dialogue", Conference “Christoph Schwöbel: Theology in Conversation” (European Academy of Religion 2023), St Andrews (UK)
  • "Interreligiöser Dialog. Hintergründe und aktuelle Herausforderungen", Abends um Acht – Vortrag und Gespräch, Evangelische Kirchengemeinde NeuSteinHofen (2023)
  • "Ambivalence at the table. Shared meals with 'the other' in Sunni adab manuals", 9th Cambridge-Tübingen Workshop “Religious and confessional ambivalence”, Tübingen (2022)
  • "Christian and Muslim notions of reconciliation at the table", SST Post-Graduate Conference 2021 "Reconciliation", Newnham College, University of Cambridge (UK)
  • "Interreligious Dialogue. Developments and current challenges" (in German), Protestant Congregation NeuSteinHofen (2023)
  • "Ambivalence at the table. Shared meals with 'the other' in Sunni adab manuals", 9th Cambridge-Tübingen Workshop  “Religious and confessional ambivalence”, Tübingen (2022)
  • "Christian and Muslim notions of reconciliation at the table" , SST Post-Graduate Conference 2021 "Reconciliation", Newnham College, University of Cambridge (UK)

Other

  • Co-Organizer of the Workshop "Making Sense of Interreligious Practices. Perspectives from Theology, Religious Studies, and Anthropology" (29–31 March 2023), University of Tübingen (funded as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German Federal and State Governments)
  • Fellow of the Gingko Interfaith Fellowship Programme (since 2022)
  • Member of the Governing Board and Youth Advisor, Conference of European Churches (CEC) (2018–2023)
  • Member of the Youth Committee, German National Committee of the Lutheran World Federation (2018–2022)
  • Member of the Strategic Advisory Group on Theological Education and Formation, Lutheran World Federation (2018–2020)