A Theology of Gratitude

Mona Siddiqui is Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies at the University of Edinburgh. In 2011 she was awarded an OBE for services to interfaith relations. She is the author of many celebrated titles in religion, including – most recently – Christians, Muslims and Jesus (Yale University Press, 2013), My Way (IB Tauris, 2014) and Human Struggle (Cambridge University Press, 2021). Nathanael Vette is Issachar Postdoctoral Fellow in Religious Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His first book, Writing with Scripture: Scripturalized Narrative in the Gospel of Mark, will be published by T&T Clark in 2022 in the Library of New Testament Studies series.

• Part I. Gratitude and God; 1. Joyful recognition: debt, duty, and gratitude to God Miroslav Volf and Ryan McAnnally-Linz; 2. Islam and the Praxis of gratitude: Shukr from divine orientations to the structures of the social Martin Nguyen; 3. Gratitude in creation and in grace: One Protestant approach to the question of whether gratitude is a burden or a hope Tom Greggs; 4. When does a virtue become a vice? Gratitude as panacea and poison in Sufi ethics Atif Khalil; Part II. Gratitude and Humanity; 5. Gratitude: a virtue as vast as life itself? Robert Emmons; 6. Saying thank you in the checkout line, or, taking Thomas to Starbucks, or, gratitude in a money economy Peter J. Leithart; 7. The privilege of gratitude? Linn Marie Tonstad; 8. Gratitude, finitude, and divine providence: living thankfully in Schleiermacher and al-Ghazali Joshua Ralston; Part III. Gratitude and Society: 9. From resentment to gratitude: an essay on multiculturalism Mona Siddiqui; 10. Being black in Britain: a space for gratitude? Anthony Reddie; 11. 'Ungrateful Jews': the Roman empire and early Christian anti-Semitism Nathanael Vette; 12. Paying tribute: Cornel West's prophetic gratitude as social movement building and self-transcendence Joshua Forstenzer.

'Accessible, engaging, and informative… With its concentration on the attitudes and practices of gratitude, the book deals with an important theme strangely neglected in theological writing. A particular strength is its interaction with recent psychological studies of gratitude; these are drawn into conversation with the historical traditions of both Christianity and Islam. The volume includes several distinguished scholars from both sides of the Atlantic, and its audience will include students of Christian and Islamic thought – especially those interested in recent comparative theology.' David Fergusson, University of Cambridge