Dr. David W. Congdon—Author and Editor

I am an author, speaker, and scholar working in the area of theology and culture. Originally from Portland, Oregon, I completed a B.A. in English at Wheaton College, acquired an M.Div. and Ph.D. in theology from Princeton Theological Seminary, and have since worked in the publishing industry as an academic acquisitions editor.

Professionally, I am the Senior Editor at the University Press of Kansas, where I oversee the publishing program in political science, law, US history, Native American and Indigenous studies, environmental studies, American studies, and religion. UPK is especially known for its prestigious line of books in American political thought, the American presidency, and constitutional law, among other areas. If you are a scholar working in these or other related fields, I would be glad to speak with you about publishing with UPK.

Academically, I maintain an active research and publishing program. My latest books are Varieties of Christian Universalism: Exploring Four Views, published in November 2023 from Baker Academic, and Who Is a True Christian? Contesting Religious Identity in American Culture, forthcoming from Cambridge University Press in April 2024.Cover image for Who Is a True Christian? Contesting Religious Identity in American Culture

My latest book is an intellectual history of the modern quest to define the “essence of Christianity,” a quest that both liberals and conservative traditionalists have participated in—the former wittingly and reflectively, and the latter often unwittingly and unreflectively. The book examines three versions of the conservative quest for the essence that have profoundly shaped contemporary American Christianity: the doctrinal quest for “historic Christianity,” the cultural quest for the Christian worldview, and the political quest for a global, persecuted, cisheteronormative identity. Having traced these developments historically, I argue that the root of the problem is the concept of orthodoxy itself, and I suggest the transgressive concept of polydoxy as a constructive way forward for Christianity in a pluralistic society.

Additionally, I am the author of The Mission of Demythologizing: Rudolf Bultmann’s Dialectical TheologyRudolf Bultmann: A Companion to His Theology, and The God Who Saves: A Dogmatic Sketch. I am also the coeditor, with W. Travis McMaken, of the Studies in Dialectical Theology at Lexington Books. Please contact me if you are interested in publishing in that series.

I am also available to speak at your university, church, or other institution. Please use the contact page for any inquiries.

What I Do

Editor

I am currently the Senior Acquisitions Editor at the University Press of Kansas, where I acquire books in political science, law, Western history, Native American and Indigenous studies, religious studies, environmental studies, and American studies.

Author

I am the author of several books in the fields of theology and religious studies.

Professor

I am an adjunct instructor at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, where I teach Reformed Theology and currently am coleading a three-year DMin cohort.

Speaker

I regularly give talks and lectures on topics that include how to publish your dissertation, the future of academic publishing, and the history of American evangelicalism.