News, Theology

Ten Theology Books to Watch For – February 2026

Here are some excellent new theology books * that will be released in February 2026 :

* broadly interpreted, including ethics, church history, biblical studies, and other areas that intersect with theology

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Theology Books February 2026

A Theology of Becoming: Body, Blood, Birth, and Sacrament

Tina Beattie

(Cambridge UP)

Modern theological approaches to birth have been filtered through an androcentric lens, focusing more on ethical questions of contraception and abortion than on the significance of birth for what it means to be human. In the Catholic tradition, this has been influenced by doctrines and traditions surrounding Mary’s virginal conception of Christ and painless birth. This Element considers the challenges posed by maternal life to ideas and theories about pregnancy, childbirth, and the relationship between a woman and her newborn child. Reflecting on her maternal experiences through the lenses of feminist theory and Marian theology, the author sketches the contours of an incarnational theology that endows the birthing body with sacramental significance. She concludes by asking what it would mean for theological anthropology to adopt this as the normative model of the person reborn through baptism into the body of the maternal Church.

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Tending Call: A Liberation of Vocation

L. Callid Keefe-Perry

( Orbis Books )

Tending Call addresses the evolving landscape of theological education and ministry by offering a fresh vision for vocational discernment that critically engages with power dynamics, privilege, and marginalization. Inspired by the liberative pedagogy of Paulo Freire, this book asserts that theological education should empower students to reflect on their social locations, discern their unique callings, and act as faithful agents of personal and systemic transformation. It emphasizes the necessity of a holistic approach to vocational discernment that integrates spiritual formation with contextual education, attending to the intersections of identity.

Through a tapestry of personal narratives, spiritual wisdom, theological reflection, and thoughtful prompts, this book creates a space for readers to engage deeply with their own stories and experiences, discerning how their unique gifts and callings intersect with the larger work of liberation and social transformation. Organized around the evocative metaphor of seeds, growth, and abundance, the book mirrors the organic unfolding of the discernment process, inviting readers to cultivate a more authentic and embodied sense of purpose. As the author has been teaching courses on vocational discernment in seminary contextual education for over a decade, the book is organized intentionally for the practice of discernment in personal contexts and small-group contexts. The recommended readings and appended materials at the end further reflect the commitment to practical resourcing.
 
*** Which of these theology books of February 2026 do you want to read first?

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C. Christopher Smith is the founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is also author of a number of books, including most recently How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church (Brazos Press, 2019). Connect with him online at: C-Christopher-Smith.com


 
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