South African universities are in the process of serious transformation and restructuring. The place of faculties of theology at universities has come under the spotlight resulting in the closure of several theological faculties or in the moving of theology to other faculties, mainly humanities or arts. Theology is under pressure, and in the current academic environment, church history, in its traditional form, has all but disappeared from South African universities. This article is an attempt to address the current situation. Although this article looks at the issue of theology at public universities, its main focus is to explore the future study of church history in the context of universities and, in particular, a Faculty of Theology. Understanding church history in the broad framework as historical theology, this article asserts the significance of church history at public universities, but points out the need to restructure the department giving due consideration to community engagement, internationalisation, transformation, Africanisation and interreligious collaboration. All of these would have a serious impact on teaching, learning and research.
South African universities are in the process of serious transformation and restructuring. The place of theology faculties at universities has come under the spotlight resulting in the closure of several theological faculties or in the moving of theology to other faculties, mainly humanities or arts. Theology is under pressure, and in the current academic environment, church history, in its traditional form, has all but disappeared from South African universities. This article
Already in 1858, President Henry Tappan (
Of all mere human institutions there are none so important and mighty in their influence as Universities; because when rightly constituted, they are made up of the most enlightened, and the choicest spirits of our race; they embrace the means of all human culture, and they act directly upon the fresh and upspringing manhood [
The above quote indicates clearly that the purpose of the university has never been understood simply in terms of ideals for the internal life of the scholarly and teaching community. It embodies the ideal to make significant contributions to the well-being of the society as a whole. In other words, the purpose of the university is finally defined in relation to a vision of the good of society – the concept of the common good (Griffin & Hough
This idea of the common good was also embedded in the founding of the medieval universities. In this context, the university had two important relations to the common good. With respect to its own internal good, the university was to promote true piety by engaging in rational discourse uniting the love of God and the love of learning. This role was in itself important for the whole society. The second, more critical role, was to assist the ecclesiastical and political authorities to avoid excesses in a coordinated attempt to promote the common good of the whole social order (Ibid, p. 102).
In the transition to the modern university, we note some interesting changes. In the 15th century, the conflict between the Protestants and Catholics led to a growing dogmatism in both groups, and the impact on the universities was disastrous. In the 17th century, the relative autonomy of the great medieval universities collapsed. Protestants and Catholics insisted on confessional universities. It thus became apparent that the university was to serve only the common good of the church, and the transmission of the tradition was reduced to the transmission of religious orthodoxy (Ibid, p. 103). It is here that we note the transition to the modern university. Previously, at the university, all instruction had been based on the assumption that the truth was given and that the responsibility of the university was to transmit that unchanging truth to each generation. Now this was turned on its head. From that time until the present, the basic assumption of the modern university has been that truth is to be discovered by scientific investigation.
This new focus was to encourage a distancing from theology. The focus was upon a reasoned cultivation of the sense of the good and the true, not in the service of true piety, as before, but as the fruit of reason and for the sake of the development of the high culture (Ibid). There is a significant difference in the idea of the modern university: the primacy of research in the purpose of the university. University instruction had two purposes: To promote free communication of ideas generated by research in the various specialised sciences and to educate persons who would form a leadership class to clear worldview composed of the highest values of liberal culture. In this way, it was intended to provide an important service to the state as well but became captured often times by the ideology of political imperialism, as can be seen in the apartheid South Africa where some universities were used to propagate racism.
Universities today tend to continue to emphasise research, sometimes at the expense of teaching and learning which is equally important in knowledge creation and impartation. The problem is that most universities struggle to survive financially and so research has become the ‘commercial product’ of sustainability. Andrew Louth says that this undermines the idea of the university as a place of intellectual virtue and contemplation, as universities are being converted into educational businesses where academics must deliver and their produce must be marketable and subject to quality control (Louth
The good news though is that given realities today have prompted a new trend in research that is relevant, dynamic and life-changing. Since Newman’s time, the idea of a university has moved from the
In a recent address at the centenary dinner of the Faculty of Theology, David Ford captured well the purpose of a university in the changing world:
Universities are a remarkable global network of institutions that have multiplied during the past century and become increasingly important. They now play a leading role in global civilisation, educating most of those in positions of power and influence, and they are essential to the knowledge economy, the learning society, and the information age. They engage with most contemporary discourses, disciplines, technologies, industries, professions, institutions, and spheres of life in our world. (29 July 2017)
Ford asserts the role, significance and purpose of the university in knowledge creation, communication and connection as it seeks to link the various threads of life into a unified whole.
In responding to the question what is theology, Jonker (
Maurice Wiles defines theology as ‘reasoned discourse about God’ (in Peel
Karl Barth (
Writing in a similar way, Moltmann outlines three significant points that calls for the transformation of theology today. They are (1) theology’s transition from the denominational to the ecumenical age, (2) the transition from the Eurocentric age to the age of humanity as a whole and (3) from the age of mechanistic domination of the world to the age of ecological worldwide community (Moltmann in Kung & Tracy
There must be a hunger for wholeness. This must be seen in the work of the theologian who is expected to ‘bring the learning and critical mentality of the academy to the faith community and the understanding of the faith community’s needs and interests into the community of critical inquiry’ (Marty in Kung & Tracy
Right at the beginning, when the Western universities were born almost a thousand years ago, theology was the queen of sciences. Things changed, however, with the Enlightenment, when human reason stole theology’s crown (Graham
Firstly, if theology does not qualify as a (natural) science that does not mean that it cannot play a significant role at the public university. In any case, Newman seriously disputes the claim that theology is not a science and should not be at the public university. The university, he says, is ‘a place of
It is interesting that even though Schleiermacher takes a somewhat different view from Newman in that he states that theology belongs to the church, yet he also agrees that ‘science is the collective enterprise in which every researcher, in every field of inquiry, is engaged, and the fragments of knowledge that each contributes can be fully appreciated only in their relation to the whole’ (Ibid, p. 255). There are many scholars and churches that believe that theology belongs to the church and should not be at universities. They, therefore, opt for their own theological schools and seminaries. However, in my opinion, this view provides a very limited view in reflecting, understanding, engaging and addressing the realities in the world. We can make a better impact when we understand and work with others to create a better life for all.
Secondly, David Ford makes a compelling argument as to why theology should be at public universities. He states that many universities are still stuck in the 20th century:
They are caught in a conception of the world that seems to take for granted an ideologically secular framework. For them modernity means moving in a linear way from a religious past to a secular future. They have not faced the fact that over 80% of the world’s people are directly involved in some religion, or that, because of higher birth rates among the religious, this is likely to have increased by 2050. Nor have they grasped that there are multiple modernities, some more religious, others less so. Nor do they take seriously that there are millions and millions of religious people who are highly educated in the sciences, the humanities, medicine, engineering, management, communications, and so on. Nor have they recognised that one of the great needs of our world is for thoughtful, intelligent, well-educated faith and belief, and for thoughtful, intelligent, well-educated understanding of faith and belief – whatever your own faith or belief (addressed on 29 July 2017 at the Centenary dinner of the Faculty of Theology, UP).
Further, Ford asserts that universities driven by the 20th century secularist mindset have not taken religions seriously. He outlines the short-sightedness of this in the following words:
This has not only meant that such universities are effectively blind, or at best one-eyed in relation to a huge dimension of human meaning and life, but it has also negatively affected public discourse about the religions and policy towards them, and It has contributed to the intellectual impoverishment of the religions themselves. (Ibid)
The point that Ford makes here is that we live in a religiously pluralistic world; this should be reason enough for theology to be in public universities.
Thirdly, in referring to the place of theology in universities in Africa, Joseph Mante states that Africa is a continent in which over 90% of the population is essentially religious in nature. He points out that if university education is to prepare people in Africa then it must engage with religions. He asserts that if this does not happen then education in Africa ‘is a non-starter; it will be useless; it will not prepare our young people to face society’ (Mante
Fourthly, another significant reason for universities in Africa to give space and place to theological education is the knowledge that the centre of Christianity and other major religions is shifting to the Global South and, in particular, to Africa. According to the Pew Research Center,
A fifth reason for theology at public universities is found in the need for ethical values and insight. The religious-ethical task of the university is twofold: firstly, it is to ‘create understanding’, and secondly, it needs to ‘keep the flow of communication going’ (Schlatter quoted by Brautigam in Graham
Sixthly, Isabel Phiri and Sarojini Nadar in their article ‘The Personal Is Political’: Faith and Religion in a Public University (in Venter 2011:81–94) argue that faith and religion can and must be exposed to academic scrutiny and that the best place for such scrutiny is the public university. They further argue that closing down the study of religion and faith at universities will cause an increase in religious fundamentalism and promote life-denying instead of life-enhancing practices in religion. Christo Lombaard speaking against the a-religious impulses of modernity asserts the place of study of religion at the university from three perspectives: the paradigmatic philosophy of science, the sociological continuation of faith and the evolutionary importance of religion (in Venter
Having shown why theology should be at a public university, I now turn my attention to the aim of this article which is to cast a vision for church history or historical theology at the university. However, before I go there, it is necessary to first establish the meaning and value of history.
The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU), in a paper entitled ‘The importance of Teaching History as a Compulsory Subject’
History
… the study of change and development in society over time. The study of history enables us to understand how past human action affects the present and influences our future, and it allows us to evaluate these effects. So, history is about learning how to think about the past, which affects the present, in a disciplined way. History is a process of enquiry. Therefore, it is about asking questions of the past: What happened? When did it happen? Why did it happen then? What were the short-term and long-term results? It involves thinking critically about the stories people tell us about the past, as well as the stories we tell ourselves. (Department of Basic Education
In asserting the need to study history, the Ministry of Education, nevertheless, points out the challenges that can be found within this discipline: It notes that:
History is a distinctive and well-established academic discipline with its own methods and discourses. Its field of study is potentially limitless, in that it encompasses the totality of past human experience. Among scholars who study history there can be differences and even controversy between some who regard it as an account of an actual past, and who view it as an entirely imagined of constructed past. (Ministry of Education
Drawing from the importance of history in schools and universities, I shall now validate the significance of church history at the university and, in particular, in the Faculty of Theology.
The University of Pretoria has taken as its slogan: ‘Today matters’. In this same context, I would like to argue that church history matters at the university and in the Faculty of Theology. I pointed out earlier why theology should be taught at public universities and then proceeded to show why history is vital for education today. I shall now discuss the importance of church history
Gonzalez states that ‘if Christianity is to be faithful to its vision of a single God, creator and sustainer of all that exists, that vision must be reflected in its own understanding of history – and not only of its own history, but of the entire history of God’s creation’ (Gonzalez
Christians are increasingly aware that they no longer live in a Christian society – if they ever did, like in the Constantinian past. The society in which we live is pluralistic, multi-religious and increasingly secular. Thus, church history cannot just focus on the history of the church but it must also seriously look at the history of the world in which the church is found. In this sense, it is part of general history but yet specific as it focuses on the history of the church.
Christian history includes a ‘divine characteristic’ (Paas
Church History is the human activity of researched, comprehensive and intelligible description of past deployments of the Church of God, in the midst of this world, in which men [
Taking it further, Kalu states that church history ‘is not just the study of an Institution but also the process of interpreting history from a Christian standpoint. The essence of church history is to start with the assumption that the kingdom of God is present like leaven in human history and, in light of that, to study the complex process whereby societies have been transformed through time’ (Kalu
In understanding this broad perspective of church history, Hofmyer and Pillay are quick to point out that church history is ‘the history of contextualisations of Christian understanding’. Kalu agrees with this in saying that church history is the ‘story of the pilgrim people of God and their experiences of God’s redeeming grace in the midst of their existence in various cultural and ecological contexts’ (Kalu
Perhaps the value of church history and historical theology can be best summarised in the words of Gerrish: ‘In a word, it is not the explication of authoritative dogmas, nor the exegesis and systematising of Scripture, but disciplined reflection on a historically given, historically mobile way of believing
The Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria is undergoing a restructuring process. A decision has been made to merge the Departments of Church History and Polity with Dogmatics and Ethics. The new Department, to be formed in 2019, would be called the Department of Systematic and Historical Theology. In a recent article entitled ‘Historical Theology: Content, methodology and relevance’, Dreyer and Pillay (
Extracting from what I have said above about theology at a public university, I shall now discuss the implications of this at the university. Although what I offer here already describes what is being done, to some extent, in the Faculty of Theology, my focus is on church history. The current Department of Church History and Polity (and even the new Department) should have before it the following foci in its continued and future vision.
UP has set five key strategic goals to becoming a leading university in Africa and the world at large. It is currently among the top 500 universities in the world and aims to improve its ranking position by at least 100 positions. Two of those five goals relate to research and teaching. They are (1) to be a research intensive university in Africa (goal 1) and (2) to pursue excellence in teaching and learning (goal 4) (see UP 2025 Plan).
As already mentioned, Johan Buitendag recently shared that modern day universities are beyond John Newman’s idea of a university where research is done for the sake of research. Newman argued that knowledge is there for its own end and that the ideal of universal knowledge is the driving force of all research. In this sense, religious truth is not only an aspect but a condition of general knowledge. However, the driving forces of universities today, according to Buitendag, are basically three indicators:
The traditional approach to church history is to divide it into four periods (Early Church, Medieval Period, Reformation and Modern Period) and to describe the main events and personalities of a certain period (see Reventlow [
Church history is not a subject that is hugely attractable because it gives the impression of learning about the past which can sometimes be dry and uninteresting. It has always been my objective when teaching this subject to make it
As we teach and research in the area of church history and polity, we must engage with participants within the community, such as religious leaders, pastors, academics, local congregants, denominations and a variety of other participants. Theology at the university can no longer be done in ivory towers. It has to serve both church and society. We have drawn a wedge between the pastor and theologian as if the one can succeed by not being the other. The perception that academic scholarship is abstract and ‘theoretical’, disconnected from the issues of daily life, neither relevant nor necessary for ‘practical’ ministry, is perhaps the single greatest prejudice against theological education (Van Hoozer & Strachan
This gap, however, is now getting bridged by the understanding that the pastor-theologian is a peculiar public figure (Ibid. p. 15). In this sense, there is the appeal for the recognition for public theology which is ‘theology in and for the public square’ (see Gavin D’Costa
In a recent article in the
The vision is to direct the Department to teach and research in relevant and needed areas. This is in keeping with the vision of the Faculty of Theology: ‘To be a faculty recognised for its creative engagement with life-giving theology and religious insight, of service to academia, church and community.’ The Department of Church History and Polity has already included in its teaching curricula subjects and topics addressing gender issues, racism, environmental issues and social justice. In engaging with community issues, some of our research projects are related to the Sustainable Development Goals on poverty, justice, gender and African Christianity and development.
The focus would be to provide relevant theological and religious education, develop and nurture transformative leaders, undertake relevant quality research and engage with the marginalised, needy and poor people in society. Gonzalez calls for the inclusion of ‘new voices’, ‘new questions’ and ‘younger churches’ in the writing of church history (Gonzalez, Ibid, pp. 20–24). He points out that the interlocutors have changed so as to include more people of mixed race as well as more women; this means that church history is becoming much more interested in the daily life of Christians (Ibid, p. 25). The shifts have been enormous. Whereas in years past our most valued sources for study of church history were the writings of ecclesiastical leaders and the archaeological remains of churches and cathedrals, we are now making more use of documents and other sources that speak to us of everyday life. It is all about relevance and making a difference in the world in which we live.
Secularisation has also lead to the fragmentation of theology. Generally theology is divided into neat blocks of specified disciplines: basics, beliefs and practices. Whilst there is definitely a place for this, theologians would do well to encourage a cross-disciplinary conversation between the biblical studies scholar and the systematician, the church historian and the lecturer in apologetics. Theologians need to overcome their own internal boundaries and their isolationist mentality, rather promoting conversation, collaboration, and collegiality within the academy while also stimulating public debate in society as a whole. For example, if you are looking at the theme of poverty; church historians can examine the historical role of the churches addressing poverty, biblical scholars can reflect on poverty and wealth in the scriptures, practical theologians can ask what ministries the church can exercise to deal with poverty, systematic theology can look at a theology of the poor and missiology can reflect on mission with the poor.
Further, theology as a proper member of the academy possesses unique links to other fields of research, such as linguistics, history, philosophy, anthropology, and sociology, and this makes theology an essential integrative element at the university, encouraging the members of the different disciplines to communicate with one another and to engage in lively discussions (Graham, p. 116). Theology holding onto the view that all fields of research are united as they attempt to understand God’s revelation in God’s creation, in nature, and in history can play a very significant role promoting the ‘
Speaking about church history in South Africa, Denis (
In order to meet the above objectives, it is essential that there is collaboration between the different Departments in both teaching and research within the Faculty of Theology whereby together we engage on these relevant themes mentioned above. Although this is currently present, it must definitely increase in vision, proportion and practice. This is already evident in the Faculty’s research theme on
Further, if we are to meet the above objectives, it is necessary that Theology interacts with other disciplines at UP. The vision must be to motivate, encourage and foster a culture of cross-pollination of ideas, conversations, research and publications on a trans-disciplinary level. Church history needs to collaborate with other disciplines at the university other than theology. For example, as we address issues of poverty, economics, moral leadership, etc. we can do so with the other disciplines engaging in economics, development studies, history and art, etc. This would certainly impact on the quality of research we produce, which the theology faculty is committed to undertake. It is impossible to envisage this taking place except with very careful long-term institutional support. A vision for the Department is to develop and grow the interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary output to enhance the quality of teaching and research at UP, which is also part of the strategic goals of the university (goals 1, 3 and 4).
One of my first tasks when I became HoD was to connect with other Church History or its equivalent departments in South African universities. I attempted to look at their teaching and research programmes and identify best practices that can be implemented in the Church History Department at UP. The idea is to make the Department the most talked about one in South Africa with the hope that it would attract more students and postgraduate students in Church History. Our Department did not have a strong connection and networking with other such departments even though we have relationships with church historians from these institutions. My vision is to change this to make us a strongly recognised contributor in the field and to collaborate with other church historians in formulating and transforming the curriculum as per church history. I am already in conversations with other church historians about expanding and deepening our focus on African Christianity. My vision is to continue to develop our local networks and strength our participation with other such Departments. I would like to create access and opportunity for our postgraduate students to publish in reputable journals, encourage joint publications and books, research opportunities and other such possibilities to advance research and teaching.
Church history, as we pointed out earlier, has to be connected with world history. It looks at the history of the church as it is found in the world. This thought stimulates a very strong need for international relationships and collaboration. In my previous role as President of the World Communion of Reformed Churches I was able to establish connections with very prominent church historians and church history departments in Europe, US, Korea, Taiwan, Cuba, Africa and others. The intention is to pursue further communication with world recognised Church History Departments in various universities across the globe to learn from them, implement what is possible in our own Church History Department, and to enable UP to ‘
One of the challenges that most educational institutions face in South Africa is the need to ‘Africanise’ the institutions. We tend to draw from Europe and the US failing to recognise and harness the rich experiences and learning opportunities from the African continent. Nadar points out that theologians are trained in a Western form of theologising but are unable to respond epistemologically adequately to social problems in a new context (Nadar 2007:239). It is thus not surprising that Balcomb states that in terms of theological education Africa needs to ‘get in step with Christianity as an African religion at an epistemological level’ (Balcomb
It is the African who is and must be the primary and principle communicator of the African experience. Africanisation is a conscious and deliberate assertion of nothing more or less than the right to be African. (Naidoo
Graham Duncan reminds us that there is not one definition of African, and it needs to be defined by Africans themselves within their own context taking into account ‘the massive diversity in Africa and the multiplicity of ways of being African’ (Duncan
In fact, these theologies do not start from the conventional debates of ‘paradigms’, ‘scientific revolutions’, ‘problem solving’ and ‘rationality’ as does the Euro-American philosophy of science (Piet Naude
Liberation theologians, normally suspicious about the ‘academic’ character of Western theology (Miguez-Bonino
Africanisation needs to occupy a top priority at the university and the Faculty of Theology. It should not be mere tokenism or window-dressing initiatives but an intentional effort of ‘doing’ theology from within the African context. In church history we have already included African, black and Liberation theologies in our modules. We continue to focus quite in-depth on African Christianity in our modules. However, all of these needs to be further integrated into a holistic approach which addresses the African context and yet speak globally to another context. Otherwise we would continue to be what Graham Duncan says ‘UP retains the traditional Western reality of a theology faculty with a veneer of Africanisation’ (
Many South African universities and learning institutions have been ‘captured’ by the apartheid ideology and practice. Since the liberation and democratisation of South Africa in 1994 these institutions are gradually seeking renewal and transformation, albeit at a slow pace in some places. The University of Pretoria was also an institution under apartheid capture, though some of its staff, notably from theology, challenged the system. However, the theology faculty is known to have supported the apartheid policy and even, through some of its church partners, justified apartheid. Even though the faculty is trying to redress the situation, its percentage of black academic and women staff is highly questionable in proportion to the demographics of South Africa.
As it currently stands, the Department of Church History and Church Polity is in need of further diversity and gender balances. My vision is to work with the current staff in the Department and the Faculty to implement a strategy that would address diversity and gender issues. My intentional plan is to recruit some female lecturers to include perspectives from women in church history. As pointed out earlier church history needs to include the ‘voices’ of the poor and marginalised not only in teaching content but also in the people who teach as well.
Denis (
tend to place more emphasis on the theological and ecclesiastical identity of their denominations than on others. This is inevitably characterised by a predominantly white disposition. It is mainly white voices that are heard in South African church or religious history, and it is also predominantly white documentation that feeds the archive from which history will develop in the future’. (p. 87)
Fortunately this has changed much since Denis’ article but, it must still be worked on with vigilance. The Department of Church History and Polity needs to move from a confessional and ecclesial focus to embracing a more ecumenical outlook. This calls for transformation in the curricula and the way church history is thought, by whom and for whom?
The Faculty of Theology has taken the decision of changing its name to the Faculty of Theology and Religion as from January 2018 (see Faculty Plan 2016). The word ‘religion’ is a very important inclusion in this context of inclusivity and religious pluralism. But the question is ‘how far do we plan to go with this?’
Edward Farley (
Volf (
[
Global religions provide the kind of moral vision and have the potential to influence economics, politics, society and human behaviour. Religions have the ability to effect legislative and moral change:
They are neither the only nor the most creative agents of change around, and their track record is in many ways spotty. But as vibrant, growing, and politically assertive global communities with memberships constituting three-quarters of the world population, world religions have the power, motivation, and infrastructure for effective global engagement. (Volf
The university provides an ideal environment for enabling different religions to work together for the common good of society.
Returning to the question of ‘how far do we go’? The tendency in most universities today is to go the way of forming a Religious Studies Department. However, this is quite different from a Faculty of Theology at the university. The report on the Quality Assurance of Netherlands Universities (QANU
It is important for theology to be present in secular universities. It has a very positive role to play in providing reflective enquiry into fundamental questions of human nature and existence, and in exploring the approaches to those questions with one or more major and historically crucial religious traditions. Theology has therefore to be conserved as an autonomous discipline with its own theory-building and methodology, independently of the external approach of religion by religious studies and of its more instrumental use for ministerial training, and also irrespective of the commitment to church policies (p. 9)
Adding my view to this, I would say that since Christianity is moving to the Global South, the majority of people in Africa profess to be Christians, and theology is well established as an academic discipline, it should remain at public universities as theology. At UP, the Faculty of Theology has essentially developed from a confessional and ecclesial point of departure, and still is, in its current form. However, it needs to steadily move into a more ecumenical form. Ecumenical organisations provide a space for interreligious dialogue and engagement. They consider it important in addressing the realities of the world in the midst of huge global challenges. They thus find it easier to enter into mutual trust and engagement on issues. The goal is not
A faculty that is based on confessional and ecclesial leanings may find it more difficult to embrace a relationship of mutual trust and engagement with other religions. Some churches may even find it unacceptable and contaminating to be found in the company of other religions, let alone to work side by side in a university environment. Those who hold on to the exclusive claims that only Christianity is the true and superior religion, afraid of syncretistic tendencies, and interpret scripture from a narrow Christocentric perspective normally fit into this category.
The inclusion of religion with theology at the university is not an ‘unholy alliance’ but a stimulation of ‘holy conversations’ as the different religions attempt to understand, work and collaborate with one another. This allows for good research and scholarship, exchange of ideas and possibilities of tackling the world’s challenges together, especially in the height of religious fundamentalism and violence. We need to recognise that Christianity is not the only religion in the world and the sense of Christendom has long passed. Worst still, with increasing secularisation the world does not necessary enjoy the ‘sacred canopy’ everywhere (D’Costa
Church history has a very important role to play in this as we study the history of other religions, trace the historical relationships of Christianity alongside these religions and assess the impact of working in relationships towards the building of the one human family. Historical theology needs to examine the history of theologies of other religions, such as, Islam, Hinduism, African traditional Religions, and Judaism. This has to be more than comparative religions, which is usually assigned to Science of Religion and Missiology; it has to get into the depth of historical roots, formation, development and understanding, all with the objective of building the one human family. The new Department, in conjunction, with other departments in the Faculty and disciplines at the university needs to give greater attention to interreligious engagement.
In this article I have argued that church history or historical theology matters at public universities. I have shown this by indicating that theology matters in public universities by asking some significant questions related to: the purpose of the university, the purpose of theology, the value of history, and the role of church history or historical theology. Most significantly, I pointed out that whilst church history matters in public universities, it must take into serious consideration the need for relevant teaching, learning and research, community engagement, interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary research, nationalisation and internationalisation, Africanisation, transformation and interreligious relations.
In the final analysis, what matters is not so much the
The author declares that he has no financial or personal relationships which may have inappropriately influenced him in writing this article.
This article was presented as an Inaugural Address at the University of Pretoria on 30 August 2017.
‘Secularization in the broadest sense is concerned with the interaction between Christianity and modernity. It can be defined as a process of mutual adjustment between the Christian tradition and its institutions on the one hand, and the social forces of modernity on the other’ (Avis
See:
See
This claim is disputed because history is taught at schools until grade 7 at which point learners have to choose to study history.
For more on a definition of history see Marwick (
I call this section ‘Historical Theology’ because of the new name it will be given in the new Department. However, for now, I will continue to refer to the current name of the Department as Church History.
My reference here to ‘getting to the truth’ is drawn from Schleiermacher’s understanding of dogmatics and church history as science. Both are parts of historical theology, and when he states that historical theology ‘coheres with science proper through philosophical theology’ he cannot mean that church history and dogmatics are not sciences, he means that this is how they are sciences (Gerrish:264).