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Christian Theology and the Secular University PDF

243 Pages·2017·2.1 MB·English
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Christian Theology and the Secular University If the secular university by definition is non-sectarian or non-denominational, then how can it accommodate a discipline like Christian theology? Doesn’t the traditionalgoaloftheologicalstudy, whichistoattainknowledgeofthe divine, fundamentally conflict with the main goal of secular academic study, which is to attain knowledge about ourselves and the world in which we live? So why should theology be admitted, or even care about being admitted, into secular academiclife?Andeveniftheologywereadmitted,whatcontributiontosecular academic life could it make? Working from a Christian philosophical and theological perspective but also engaging a wide range of theologians, philosophers, and religious studies scho- lars, Christian Theology and the Secular University takes on these questions, arguing that Christian theology does belong in the secular university because it provides distinct resources that the secular university needs if it is going to ful- fill what should be its main epistemic and educative ends. This book offers a fresh and unique perspective to scholars working in the disciplines of theology, philosophy, and religious studies, and to those in other academic disciplines who are interested in thinking critically and creatively about the place and nature of theological study within the secular university. Paul A. Macdonald, Jr. holds an endowed chair in the Department of Philoso- phy at the United States Air Force Academy. This page intentionally left blank Christian Theology and the Secular University Paul A. Macdonald, Jr. K ~~o~;J~n~~~up ORKYOR LONDOLNLOONNDDOONN Y LONDONANDNEWYORK Firstpublished2017 byRoutledge 2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN andbyRoutledge 711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017 RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness ©2017PaulA.Macdonald,Jr. TherightofPaulA.Macdonald,Jr.tobeidentifiedasauthorofthiswork hasbeenassertedbyhiminaccordancewithsections77and78ofthe Copyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988. Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedor utilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,now knownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinany informationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfrom thepublishers. Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarksor registeredtrademarks,andareusedonlyforidentificationandexplanation withoutintenttoinfringe. BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Names:Macdonald,PaulA.,author. Title:Christiantheologyandthesecularuniversity/byPaulA.MacdonaldJr. Description:NewYork:Routledge,2017.|Includesbibliographicalreferences andindex. Identifiers:LCCN2016035788|ISBN9781472484895(hardback:alk.paper)| ISBN9781315571904(ebook) Subjects:LCSH:Universitiesandcolleges--Religion.|Theology--Studyand teaching(Higher) Classification:LCCBV1610.M232017|DDC230.071/1--dc23 LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2016035788 ISBN:978-1-4724-8489-5(hbk) ISBN:978-1-315-57190-4(ebk) TypesetinSabon byTaylor&FrancisBooks For my wife, Jennifer Winslow Macdonald This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface ix Introduction 1 1 Whose theology? Which university? 10 Theology and skepticism, or theology without a subject matter 11 Theology as a realist intellectual discipline, or theology as knowledge 20 Secularism, secularity, and the secular university 28 The non-secularist, inclusively secular university 37 2 Theology in the secular university: a critical analysis of the current debate 53 The secularist study of religion and the “secular perspective” 54 Inclusivism, part one: theology as a secular academic discipline 63 Inclusivism, part two: theological inclusivists 68 Theology as an exclusively sectarian academic discipline 75 Theology in the secular university as “faith” seeking understanding 81 3 An epistemology of truly liberal learning 98 Knowing the truth is its own end 99 Critical thinking and the truth as telos 108 The intellectually virtuous pursuit of knowledge and truth 113 Understanding as an epistemic and educative end 120 Wisdom: the ultimate epistemic and educative end 124 4 Theology and truly liberal learning in the secular university 139 Reasoning and critical thinking in theology 141 Theological study as growth in intellectual virtue 150 viii Contents Contemplative reasoning, theology, and the pursuit of understanding and wisdom 159 Theological study as oriented towards theological knowledge and truth 167 5 Theology and moral education in the secular university 183 Moral education and the secular university 184 Wisdom and moral education in the secular university 190 Theology, wisdom, and moral education in the secular university 198 Theology, the secular university, and the common good 209 Conclusion 223 Index 227 Preface For a long time, I took it for granted that Christian theology belonged in the secular university. I did graduate work in Christian philosophy and theology (and philosophy of religion, more broadly) at two major, secular universities (Yale University and the University of Virginia) and never once called into question whether the theological study that I engaged in, under the direction of some premier philosophers and theologians (Christian and otherwise), was somehow out of place or inappropriate, let alone deficient or unworthy of broader university study. Although I certainly realized that not all of my fellow secular-university citizens were Christian, or even religious, I also realized that Christian theology was as intellectually rigorous as any other course of study, was characterized by the highest level of rational argument, and consequently could make reasonable claims about its ability to furnish the knowledge or understanding of divine matters which, asa person of Christian faith, I earnestly sought then and continue to seek out. After leaving graduate school and completing two postdoctoral fellowships (one at Princeton University, the other at Villanova University), I began teach- ing and doing Christian theology within a secular religious studies department at Bucknell University, a nationally ranked, secular liberal-arts college. At this point in my career, I was more fully aware of the broader debate surrounding the place and nature of theological study in the secular university, and in particular secular religious studies. And although I was supported in my own pedagogical and scholarly theological endeavors by my department, I realized that theology’s place in the wider secular university was by no means secure. Or, to be more specific, I realized that the place of traditional theological inquiry, as a tradition-based form of rational inquiry into the existence and nature of the divine, was by no means secure (for reasons I will discuss at length in this book). During my second year at Bucknell, I became involved in an intercollegiate research project and workshop, sponsored by The Teagle Foundation, dedicated to investigating the place and role of “big questions” (questions about meaning, purpose, and value) in the secular liberal arts. The more deeply I became involved in this project over the years (since it lasted well beyond its initial, proposed termination date), the more I became interested in and committed to

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