📘 Lexicon Entry: Relational Ontology

Understanding of being itself as constituted through relationships rather than existing as isolated substances, where identity emerges from communion with others.

A theological and philosophical framework that understands being itself as constituted through relationships rather than existing as isolated substances, where identity emerges from and is sustained through communion with others. Relational ontology challenges Western substance metaphysics with Eastern emphasis on person as being-in-communion, drawing on patristic understanding of divine persons and contemporary theological anthropology. This concept provides foundation for Interindependence by demonstrating how being itself is relational rather than individual. Relational ontology directly counters Practical Atheism by grounding ethics in relational rather than abstract foundations, and challenges Prosperity Materialism by locating human worth in relationship rather than achievement.

Theological Alternative

being, ontology, relationship, communion, personhood, substance metaphysics, identity formation

Geevarghese-Uffman, Craig. “Relational Ontology.” *Political Theology Lexicon*. https://www.commonlifepolitics.com/p/lexicon. Accessed [date].

Being is fundamentally relational rather than substantial

Identity emerges through relationship rather than existing prior to it

Trinity demonstrates being-as-communion as fundamental reality

Human personhood constituted through relationship with God and others

Being understood as isolated substance existing independently of relationship

Identity conceived as fixed essence unaffected by relational engagement

Relationship reduced to external connections between pre-existing beings

Being itself understood as relational rather than substantial

Identity formation through communion rather than isolation

Personhood constituted through relationship with others

Challenge to Western individualistic anthropology

Trinitarian theology of being-as-communion

Patristic understanding of divine persons

Eastern Orthodox emphasis on relational personhood

Contemporary critique of substance metaphysics

"God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image’" (Genesis 1:26)

"It is not good that the man should be alone" (Genesis 2:18)

"Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them" (Matthew 18:20)

Pauline body of Christ imagery emphasizing mutual interdependence (1 Corinthians 12)

Communitarian critiques of liberal individualism

Therapeutic approaches emphasizing relational healing

Ecological thinking about interconnected systems

Feminist emphasis on relational rather than autonomous selfhood

Philosophical analysis of relational versus substance ontologies

Theological studies comparing Eastern and Western anthropologies

Sociological research on identity formation through relationships

Psychological studies on relational models of human development

Related Primary Concepts: Interindependence as practical application

Key Alternatives: Being With, Relational Receptivity

Theological Mutations Addressed: Practical Atheism, Tribal Epistemology

Contemporary Movements: Communitarian philosophy, ecological thinking, feminist theology

May 23, 2025

*This entry is part of the Political Theology Lexicon, accessible exclusively to subscribers. View the complete lexicon to explore related concepts and the full theoretical framework.*