Ecumenical Influences

Wartburg Theological Seminary, Paul Tillich, and Roman Catholic Theologians

Abstract

The 1960s were a time of unexpected and considerable changes in society and in Christian churches. In the autumn of 1961, ecumenism arose as a new and unexpected movement that began to influence Christianity in the United States, including communities in Dubuque, Iowa, where the author was first a student and then a professor. In this essay, the author reflects on how local relationships in Dubuque both participated in and contributed to the global ecumenical movement, especially through Roman Catholic engagement with the Protestant theologian Paul Tillich.