Beyond the Human: Theological Perspective on Transhumanism and Posthumanism

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid emergence of transhumanist and posthumanist philosophies poses fundamental challenges to classical theological anthropology and the normative frameworks that have long guided bioethical reasoning within religious traditions. Transhumanism, broadly understood as the project of radically enhancing and ultimately transcending the biological limits of the human organism through technology, and posthumanism, which more radically questions the ontological and moral centrality of the human species itself, both converge in their rejection of a fixed, given human nature. These movements raise urgent questions that theology—and particularly Christian personalist thought—is uniquely positioned to address.

This Special Issue aims to examine transhumanist and posthumanist thought through the lens of theological anthropology, questioning the foundational categories for understanding human dignity, embodiment, and relational identity. Drawing on Christian theological and social thought, personalist philosophy, and bioethical reflection rooted in the works of various thinkers, and contemporary bioethicists engaging with enhancement technologies, the analysis interrogates the assumptions that underlie the transhumanist pursuit of cognitive, emotional and physical enhancement, radical life extension, and mind uploading, as well as the posthumanist dissolution of the human subject.

Both movements, despite their apparent differences, share a common reductionism: transhumanism instrumentalizes the body as a platform for optimization, while posthumanism deconstructs the subject in ways that undermine the grounds of moral accountability and relational ethics. A theological response need not reject technological progress per se; rather, it must insist on a normative anthropology in which the human person is understood as an embodied, relational, and transcendent being whose dignity cannot be reduced to function, performance, or information. This Issue aims to propose a framework of discernment grounded in theological anthropology, offering constructive criteria for evaluating emerging enhancement technologies and their societal implications within a faith-consistent ethical horizon.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

• Religious traditions in critical dialogue with transhumanism and posthumanism;
• Embodiment, soul, and digital existence;
• Religious-philosophical reflections on mind uploading, artificial consciousness, and virtual immortality;
• Finitude, mortality, and transcendence: transhumanism vs theology;
• Comparative religious anthropologies in response to the posthumanist dissolution of the human subject;
• Human dignity between reductionist and functionalist enhancement ideologies;
• Theological evaluation of germline editing, brain-computer interfaces, and pharmacological enhancement;
• Artificial intelligence, moral agency, and relational ethics;
• Religious reflections on non-human subjectivity and accountability;
• Transhumanism and soteriology;
• Justice, equity, and the enhancement divide: religious social ethics on technological access;
• Pastoral response to enhancement culture.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editors Prof. Dr. Odilon-Gbènoukpo Singbo (odilon.singbo@unicath.hr) and Assoc. Prof. Ivana Greguric (igreguric@hrstud.hr), or to the Assistant Editor Ms. Evelyn Zeng (evelyn.zeng@mdpi.com) of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

Deadline for abstract submission: 31 January 2027 

Deadline for full manuscript submission: 30 April 2027

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Odilon-Gbènoukpo Singbo
Dr. Ivana Greguric
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.