Interview: Karen Guth

Original Publication Date: June 11, 2024 I’m excited to present to you the first Window Light interview in several months: my conversation with Karen Guth, an associate professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. We discussed her recent book The Ethics of Tainted Legacies: Human Flourishing after Traumatic Pasts, which discusses the ethical problem of people or institutions that have made important contributions to society but that are found to have committed, or been complicit in, great evils. Dr. Guth and I spent a lot of time discussing the Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder and the sexual abuse he committed, as well as the response of his church, academic institutions, and fellow theologians, because considering how to address the tainted legacy of a major theologian seemed particularly important for a newsletter with a theological focus. But we also discussed figures from the entertainment industry like Bill Cosby and Woody Allen, the removal of Confederate monuments, and the efforts of Georgetown University to address its historical involvement in the institution of slavery, among other things. See the original post for an edited transcript of the interview. The Window Light Podcast is a feature of Window Light, the newsletter for expert analysis on the fields of Catholic theology and ministry, explorations of historical theology, commentary on current events, and theological and spiritual reflections. The podcast features interviews with scholars and practitioners in the fields of theology and ministry. Be sure to subscribe to the Window Light newsletter for regular posts and other features! Get full access to Window Light at windowlight.substack.com/subscribe