This thesis offers a new interpretation of the concept of the latent church in the theology of Paul Tillich. Although the term appears throughout Tillich’s writings, it has received little sustained scholarly attention, apart from in the narrow context of ecclesiology. As I will argue in this thesis, the concept has much more far-reaching implications for interpreting Tillich’s work. A renewed reading of the latent church is important as it is a hub where several of Tillich’s key theological concerns meet. For Tillich, the idea of the latent church was not merely theoretical. It was shaped by his lived experience and, in turn, informed his theological and social commitments. As such, it provides a window into the development and coherence of his broader theological project. In particular, the concept helps reconcile two seemingly divergent aspects of Tillich’s work: his role as a theologian of culture and his identity as a systematic theologian.

The interpretation developed in this thesis identifies four key characteristics of the latent church. First, Tillich used the concept to interpret the spiritual situation he perceived in Germany during the 1920s and 1930s. Second, it shaped his own sense of vocation, especially in his engagement with communities beyond the institutional church, including the religious socialist movement. Third, the latent church functioned as a theological category through which Tillich interpreted the relationship between the religious and the secular. Finally, the concept culminated in a pneumatological ontology that informed Tillich’s understanding of the activity of the Spirit in history, both within and beyond the historical church.

The latent church therefore lies close to the centre of Tillich’s theological aims: the interpretation of religion and culture, and their relationship to the unconditioned. Through this concept, Tillich identified the presence of Christ within the Christian community while also discerning a hidden Christ within society more broadly. The latent church integrates the Protestant principle through a secular prophetic critique and provides an account of the Spirit’s activity in the world. Given its importance across Tillich’s life and writings, a careful interpretation of the latent church is necessary for a fuller understanding of Tillich’s theological project.