My research proposes that theological notions of salvation and redemption are deeply articulated by economic notions of debt and guilt, and which, in turn, also contributed to the construction of the very systems and structures that frame economic activities. I attempt to rethink the Mystery of God in relation to salvation not in terms of dogmatic theology but in terms of economic theology framed around the two key notions of debt and guilt.

I draw on decolonial theory, economic theology, and critical theoretical frameworks to expose how economic concepts have influenced, co-constructed, and co-formed religious ideas of salvation and redemption. My proposal exposes how notions of debt and guilt as co-foundational in forming and shaping our theological interpretations of redemption and salvation, and argues that the economic theology of salvation and redemption as based on debt and guilt has played a key role in constructing contemporary economic structures.

Researchers have explored the economics and theology relationship, but they have stopped short of a full elaboration of the co-foundational character of economics in theology. When theologians observe the Atonement theory, they focus on understanding the “why” and “what” of Atonement. Their goal is to overcome its limitation in validating sacrifice, promoting obedience, and creating dependency structures that reinforce victimization and economic, race and gender-based logics of subordination. By contrast, my research focuses on the question of the “how” of the atonement, that is, the structural epistemological paradigm that (in)forms what we understand as atonement. My contribution is a theoeconomic proposal that exposes the interwoven character and foundational dimension of debt-guilt logic within Christian notions of salvation. This research brings new insights for understanding the doctrine of salvation and its implications for understanding doing/being church in the North American context and more globally.