Theology at the Crossroads of University, Church and Society: Dialogue, Difference and Catholic Identity

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Lieven Boeve examines the place of theology in the university, the church and society. He emphasizes that theology certainly belongs to all of these three domains as it belongs to the nature of theology to involve itself in all three spheres, especially at the crossroads where they overlap. Boeve discusses the recent document Theology Today from the International Theological Commission which circumscribes theologys place and task in the Catholic Church. Boeve discusses how the difficult relation between theology and philosophy is typical for a Church which has difficulty with the dialogue in todays world; as well as examines the relation between theology and religious studies. Going further, Boeve offers a reflection on Catholic identity today, focusing more specifically on education. He presents four models for considering the identity of Catholic schools in the light of the changed society and argues that dialogue in a context of plurality and difference can lead to new, fruitful ways to shape even the Catholic identity. Boeve concludes his discussion with a short assessment of Pope Benedicts papacy and emphasizes the need for the Catholic Church to convert itself before it can call the world to do the same.

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Lieven Boeve has provided a comprehensive grasp of the situation of Christian theology in the world today offer[s] an insightful look into the life of the Church at the margins. * Reading Religion *
It is a major strength of this collection that Boeve is able to open up a series of complex conversations without being reductionistic toward the various discourses that theology seeks to address. If one finishes the book with the sense that the difficult conversations needing to be had in the university, the church, and society are really just beginning, then this is perhaps as it should be. There is so much dialogue to be had, and this insightful documentation of what it will take to bring a plurality of voices into conversation with one another is the right place to start. * Horizons *

Author Bio

Lieven Boeve is Professor of Fundamental Theology at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven, Belgium. As of August 1, 2014, he has been appointed the Director-General of the general office of Catholic Education in Flanders (Katholiek Onderwijs Vlaanderen). His research concerns theological epistemology, philosophical theology, truth in faith and theology, tradition development and hermeneutics. From 2005 till 2009 he served as president of the European Society for Catholic Theology. He is the author of Interrupting Tradition. An Essay on Christian Faith in a Postmodern Context (2003), God Interrupts History. Theology in a Time of Upheaval (2007), Lyotard and Theology (2014) and Theology at the Crossroads of University, Church and Society (2016). He has co-edited various volumes, of which the most recent are: Questioning the Human: Toward a Theological Anthropology for the Twenty-First Century (2014) and The Normativity of History. Theological Truth and Tradition in the Tension between Church History and Systematic Theology (2016). On September 17, 2015, the European Society for Catholic Theology awarded him the biennial prize for the best theological book of the past two years, for his monograph Lyotard and Theology.