Nikola Knezevic, Ph.D.

About

Nikola Knežević is a theologian, researcher, author, and educator whose work focuses on political theology, Christian ethics, religion and politics, reconciliation, transitional justice, nationalism, collective memory, and post-conflict societies.

He holds a Ph.D. in Theology and a Magister of Theology, a pre-Bologna research degree, from the Protestant Theological Seminary in Novi Sad, Serbia, as well as a Specialist Graduate Professional Degree in Theology from the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek, Croatia.

Knežević is the founder and former president of the Centre for the Study of Religion, Politics, and Society in Serbia, where he was engaged in interdisciplinary research and public dialogue concerning the relationship between religion, political life, democratic society, identity, and social conflict. His academic interests have consistently centered on the role of religious traditions in shaping political thought, ethical responsibility, human dignity, reconciliation, and the moral challenges confronting pluralistic societies.

He is the author of several books and numerous scholarly articles and has contributed to conference proceedings, academic publications, and research projects, including publications produced in collaboration with the Media Department of the University of Novi Sad. His scholarship spans theological anthropology, political theology, Christian social and political thought, ethics, and questions of religion and public life.

In addition to his academic work, Knežević has contributed essays and commentary to prominent Serbian newspapers and periodicals, including Danas, Vreme, Novosti, and Borba. His work therefore bridges academic research and broader public engagement, bringing theological and ethical perspectives into contemporary discussions of politics, culture, conflict, and social responsibility.

He has also directed two feature-length documentary films examining war, religion, historical memory, and the legacy of conflict in the former Yugoslavia. This work complements his scholarly interest in reconciliation, transitional justice, collective responsibility, and the ways communities interpret and transmit contested memories of violence and political upheaval.

His broader research seeks to examine how theology and ethical traditions can contribute constructively to democratic public life while addressing the enduring challenges of political polarization, nationalism, religious identity, historical trauma, and reconciliation.

Education

Ph.D., Theology, Protestant Theological Seminary, Novi Sad, Serbia, 2012

Magister of Theology (Pre-Bologna Research Degree), Protestant Theological Seminary, Novi Sad, Serbia, 2007

Specialist Graduate Professional Degree in Theology, Evangelical Theological Seminary (ETVOS), Osijek, Croatia, 2014

B.Th., Protestant Theological Seminary, Novi Sad, Serbia

Expertise

Primary:
Political Theology
Christian Ethics
Religion & Politics
Theological Anthropology
Christianity, Libertarianism, and Conservatism
Christian Nationalism
Eastern Orthodox Theology
Reconciliation & Transitional Justice
Collective Memory, Nationalism & Post-Conflict Societies

Secondary:
Democracy, Public Theology & Civil Society
Church, State & Political Responsibility
War, Peace & the Ethics of Conflict
Religious Identity & Political Community
Theology of Human Dignity & Personhood

Scholarly Monographs

1. Uvod u teološku antropologiju [An Introduction to Theological Anthropology]. Novi Sad: Protestant Theological Seminary, 2010.

2. Savremena politička teologija na Zapadu [Contemporary Political Theology in the West]. Belgrade: Otačnik, 2012. ISBN 978-86-87057-19-7.

3. The Core Tenets of Conservative Theology of Politics, Independently published, 2026.

Edited and Co-Edited Scholarly Volumes

1. Jablanov Maksimović, J., Nikola Knežević, V. Marjanović, and T. Radić. Hrišćanstvo i demokratija: između antagonizma i mogućnosti [Christianity and Democracy: Between Antagonism and Possibility]. Belgrade: Konrad Adenauer Foundation, 2011.

2. Sremac, Srđan, Zoran Grozdanov, and Nikola Knežević, eds. Opasna sjećanja i pomirenje [Dangerous Memories and Reconciliation]. Rijeka: Ex Libris, 2012. ISBN 978-953-6932-44-3.

3. Sremac, Srđan, Nikola Knežević, and Dubravka Valić Nedeljković, eds. Mediji, religija i nasilje [Media, Religion and Violence]. CIRPD and Otačnik, 2013. ISBN 978-86-89419-01-6.

4. Knežević, Nikola, and Zlatiborka Popov Momčinović, eds. Uloga religije u pomirenju i tranzicionoj pravdi [The Role of Religion in Reconciliation and Transitional Justice]. CIRPD and Otačnik, 2013.

5. Knežević, Nikola, Blagoje Pantelić, and Srđan Sremac, eds. Religija, odgovornost i tranziciona pravda [Religion, Responsibility and Transitional Justice]. Novi Sad: CIRPD, 2014. ISBN 978-86-89419-03-0.

6. Valić Nedeljković, Dubravka, Srđan Sremac, Nikola Knežević, and Dinko Gruhonjić, eds. Uloga medija u normalizaciji odnosa na Zapadnom Balkanu [The Role of the Media in Normalizing Relations in the Western Balkans]. Novi Sad, 2014.

7. Valić Nedeljković, Dubravka, Nikola Knežević, Dinko Gruhonjić, et al., eds. Uloga medija u normalizaciji odnosa na Zapadnom Balkanu II. Novi Sad, 2015. ISBN 978-86-6065-317-0.

8. Valić Nedeljković, Dubravka, Nikola Knežević, Srđan Sremac, and Dinko Gruhonjić, eds. Mediji, religija, nacionalizam i tranziciona pravda [Media, Religion, Nationalism and Transitional Justice]. Novi Sad, 2016.

9. Valić Nedeljković, Dubravka, Nikola Knežević, Srđan Sremac, and Dinko Gruhonjić, eds. Politike sećanja i zamrznuti konflikt [Politics of Memory and the Frozen Conflict]. Novi Sad, 2017. ISBN 978-86-89419-07-8.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

1. “Tetragramaton – Sveto četvoroslovlje” [“The Tetragrammaton: The Sacred Four-Letter Name”]. Teološki časopis, no. 3 (2003): 64–79.

2. “Kratak pregled pravoslavne antropologije” [“A Brief Overview of Eastern Orthodox Anthropology”]. Teološki časopis, no. 7 (2007): 75–87.

3. “Dijalektika kolektivnog preumljenja” [“The Dialectic of Collective Metanoia”]. Religija i tolerancija 6, no. 10 (2008): 47–55.

4. “Ekumenski dijalog – tri lica iste suštine” [“Ecumenical Dialogue: Three Persons of the Same Essence”]. Teološki časopis, no. 8 (2008): 82–92.

5. “Esej o savremenoj političkoj teologiji” [“An Essay on Contemporary Political Theology”]. Religija i tolerancija 10, no. 13 (2010).

6. “Komparativni pristup: Peccatum originale” [“A Comparative Approach to Peccatum Originale”]. Teološki časopis, no. 9 (2010).

7. “Teologija nade Jirgena Moltmana” [“Jürgen Moltmann’s Theology of Hope”]. Religija i tolerancija 8, no. 13 (2011).

8. “Potreba za afirmacijom kontekstualne političke teologije.” Bosna Franciscana, no. 34 (2011): 61–73.

9. “Poimanje odnosa crkve, teologije i društva unutar političke teologije Stenlija Hauervasa i Džona Milbanka.” Diskursi 1, no. 2 (2011): 139–152.

10. “Politička teologija unutar totalitarističkog diskursa Karla Šmita” [“Political Theology in the Totalitarian Discourse of Carl Schmitt”]. Diskursi 2, no. 3 (2012): 117–130.

11. “Is Collective Memory Making the Next Balkan War Imminent?” Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe 38, no. 4 (2018): Article 3.

Scholarly Book Chapters and Proceedings

1. “Oboženje iz perspektive pravoslavne tradicije sa osvrtom na rimokatoličko i protestantsko poimanje termina theosis-sanctificatio.” In Konverzija i kontekst, 149–165. 2009.

2. “Politička teologija Johana Baptista Meca.” In Hrišćanstvo i demokratija: između antagonizma i mogućnosti. Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 2011.

3. “Politička teologija kao jezik komunikacije sa postmodernom.” In Iščekujući Evropsku uniju, vol. 2, 49–59. Belgrade Open School, 2011.

4. “Odnosi Crkve i države u protestantskim veroispovedanjima.” Jubilarni godišnjak Pravoslavnog bogoslovskog fakulteta Sv. Vasilije Ostroški u Foči (2014): 145–161.

Scholarly Book Review

Review of Education in Post-Conflict Transition: The Politization of Religion in School Textbooks, edited by Gorana Ognjenović and Jasna Jozelić. Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe 39, no. 1 (2019): Article 7.

Public Scholarship

Articles, commentary, and interviews have appeared in Danas, Vreme, Novosti, Borba, Nova srpska politička misao (NSPM), SouthEast European Times, and Il Piccolo. Topics include political theology, church–state relations, religious freedom, Christian democracy, nationalism, minority rights, the Reformation, and interreligious dialogue.

Documentary Filmography

Director of two feature-length documentary films examining religion, war, reconciliation, and collective memory in the former Yugoslavia.