Abstract
This article sets out to argue that institutional Christianity does not have the exclusive rights to “doing theology”. Since Plato theology has assumed systematization of ideas on the transcendent divine. The practice of theology is to be found in both the professional academy and in the public square. Spirituality is not to be reserved for people longing for God within the context of today’s mass consumerist populist culture. Spirituality and religion overlap and, therefore, today’s postmodern spirituality need not result in the end of religion. However, institutional religion is indeed dying and ”public theology” is not about theologians or pastors “doing theology” in the public square. Public theologicans are the film directors, artists, novelists, poets, and philosophers. The article argues that “public theology” could facilitate a dialogue between the theological discourse of academics and the public theological discourse. The article shows that “public theology” does to an extent overlap with ecclesial and contextual theology. In its core “public theology” is seen as the inarticulate longing of believers who do not want to belong.
Highlights
The notion of “public theology” is a newcomer to the field of religious studies and spirituality
Storrar (p 5) asks in Lecture 1: “But what is public about public theology and its public paradigm of mission?”4
I argue that institutional religion is dying and much theological activity has shifted from the academy to the “public square”, I am of the opinion that “public theology” is not about theologians or pastors “doing theology” in the public square
Summary
The notion of “public theology” is a newcomer to the field of religious studies and spirituality. Against the background of the symposium and the recent discussions on public theology, my article aims to. This article – a reworked version of the paper – aims to argue that the institutional Christianity does not have the exclusive rights to “doing theology”. The practice of theology is to be found in both the professional academy and in the public square. I argue that institutional religion is dying and much theological activity has shifted from the academy to the “public square”, I am of the opinion that “public theology” is not about theologians or pastors “doing theology” in the public square. The article argues that “public theology” could facilitate a dialogue between the theological discourse of academics and the public theological discourse
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