Divinity Professor Hits Church Apathy On Political Issues

A Divinity School professor has signed a statement decrying what he called yesterday "the whole mood of escapism and spirituality" in contemporary theology which has replaced concern about racism and other political and social issues.

Harvey Cox, professor of Theology, last month joined a group of 20 Boston area ministers, nuns and teachers in responding to a statement issued last year by a group of Hartford theologians, calling for a return to spirituality.

According to Cox, the Boston group believes the Bible shows God's presence "not in some spiritual world but in the real world, wherever people are hungry or disenfranchised."

The statement has received a great deal of public attention because "there were a lot of people just sort of waiting" for someone to articulate a connection between religious and secular concerns, Cox said.