A theology textbook written by 23 members from the University of St. Thomas theology department won the 2021 Textbook Excellence Award administered by the Textbook and Academic Authors Association (TAA).

“The Christian Theological Tradition,” fourth edition, was edited by St. Thomas theology professors Mark McInroy and Michael Hollerich and was one of the eight textbooks that received this recognition for 2021.

“The textbook originated over 20 years ago when our department had a single course that was required of every undergraduate that went through St. Thomas, whether they were transfer students or first-time students, whether they were Christian or nonchristian,” Hollerich said.

Hollerich has been a part of this textbook since the first edition, which was first commercially published in 1999, and worked with the theology department to write the textbook.

“We have a large theology department at St. Thomas that we’re blessed with. Because of the various specializations we have, we could draw on the expertise of many kinds, but for an extremely ambitious book like this, there were a few things for which we went outside,” Hollerich said.

The textbook reached out to independent authors, including authors from different universities to write the chapters on Thomas Aquinas and the chapter on the Islamic religion.

The fourth edition includes more updated chapters or chapter sections to bring the textbook up to date.

“The textbook offers an overview of the Christian theological tradition, and in so doing it covers approximately 3,000 years of theological reflection that begins with Genesis and ends in the present day,” McInroy said.

“The Textbook and Academic Authors Association invites submissions for its Textbook Excellence Award, and after consulting with their staff, it became clear that the textbook would be a promising candidate for the award,” McInroy said.

Nominated textbooks are judged for their merits in four areas: pedagogy, or the method and practice of teaching, content or scholarship, writing, and appearance and design.

The award gives more recognition to the theology department at St. Thomas and shows the significant affirmation of work the department put into the book.

“The award is a statement about our collective identity,” Hollerich said. “This is something that we can present as professional recognition, and I think it is also a signal to the rest of the university about what we’re doing pedagogically.”

The textbook’s award highlights the wide range of expertise in the St. Thomas theology department.

“I think that the award bespeaks the skill department members have developed in making theological subject matter connect with audiences from a broad assortment of different backgrounds and viewpoints,” McInroy said. “I am immensely proud of our collective ability to do that.”

Natalie Hoepner can be reached at hoep8497@stthomas.edu.