Christine Helmer

Christine Helmer (Ph.D. Yale) is Professor of Religious Studies at Northwestern University. She also has a courtesy appointment in the Department of German and the current holder of the Arthur E. Andersen Teaching and Research Professorship.

Dr. Helmer is the author of many articles as well as contributing editor (and co-editor) of numerous volumes in biblical theology, philosophy of religion, Schleiermacher studies, and Luther studies, including most recently The Global Luther (Fortress Press 2009), Transformations in Luther’s Theology(EVA-Leipzig 2011), and Lutherrenaissance: Past and Present (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2015). She is the main editor for the Christianity section of the Encyclopedia of Bible and its Reception (de Gruyter). Her monograph, The Trinity and Martin Luther (Zabern 1999), shows how the Trinity is an important doctrine for Luther. Her new book, Theology and the End of Doctrine (Westminster John Knox Press 2014), consists of an historical analysis of theology’s preoccupation with doctrine over the last century and a constructive proposal for renewing doctrinal production as a creative enterprise.

Her research has been supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Humboldt Foundation. During 2012-2013 she was the Marie Curie EURIAS (European Institutes of Advanced Study) Fellow at the Helsinki Collegium of Advanced Studies in Helsinki, Finland. During 2014-2105, she was a Research Fellow in the Philosophy and Theology of Humility Project, based at Saint Louis University.