The joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails

1
The joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of
the people of this age, especially those who are
poor or in any way afflicted, these are the
joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the
followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely
human fails to raise an echo in their hearts.
Gaudium et Spes 1, 1965
Political Theology
Metz
Moltmann
Liberation Theology
Boffs
Gutierrez
2
Tools of Social Sciences
Habermas
Marx
Liberation Hermeneutic
Context
Issues
Domination
Questions
3
Tools of Feminist Studies
Gender

Power
Difference
Herm. Of Suspicion
Women Theorists
Herm. Of Reclamation

Feminist Hermeneutic
New Theology

New Spirituality
Context
Issues
Women's
Transformation
Questions
Experience
4
Ecological Sciences
Voice

Interconnectedness
Worth
Herm. Of Suspicion
Environmentalists
Herm. Of Reclamation

Ecological Hermeneutic
New Theology

New Spirituality
Context
Issues
Earth's
Transformation
Questions
Oppression
5
Hybridity
Diaspora
Native

Sources/Resources
Critical Tools
Contextual/Postcolonial Hermeneutics


Context
Postcolonial
Colonial
Gendered
Indigenous
6
Is it possible that theology may have a modest
butconstructive and questioning contribution to
makeboth to the theoretical discussions which
undergirdpolicy and to policy-making itself?
Forrester, 1997, 31
What does theology have to contribute to the
de-christianising of society post-christian/re
ligiously plural/secular state in a globalised
world?
Public Theology
7
Public Spirit God and Society
Professor William Storrar New College -
University of Edinburgh Director of Centre for
Theology and Public Issues
8
Setting the Context

• Political Prisoners - Who?

• Emancipatory Theologies of second half of 20th
  century

• 21st century - new challenge - Connection
  between citizenship discipleship

9
Task To map the 2 spaces Citizenship Disci
pleship
10
Theorist - Habermas
Government
Market Economy
Public Sphere
Civil Society Life World Citizens
Co-habitants
11
Gary Simpsons Categories
1. Sectarian - Christian movements in the
public sphere - conflictual/aonistic model
2. Liberal - Religion does not belong in the
public sphere
3. Communicative - Thick moral traditions
have their place - articulated in a way which
recognises that others are listening.
Respectful and open dialogue.
12
Theorist - Habermas
Government
Market Economy
Public Sphere
Civil Society Life World Citizens
Co-habitants
Communicative
Agonistic
Liberal
13
Citizenship
1. Legal and Political status - rights and duties
Exclusive and contested status
2. Centuries of Struggle toward civil
citzenship, political citizenship and social
citizenship
3. Contested and contingent nature---gt a practice
4. Citizenship and sense of identity can be in
conflict and tension - multiple and hyphenated
identities
5. Citizenship always includes the excluded
other, the co-habitant
14
PoliticalGlobalisation
Communications Globalisation
Economic Globalisation
Government
Market Economy
rights duties
Public Sphere
practice of citizenship
Trade UnionsChurchesOrganisationsFriendships
Civil Society Life World Citizens
Civic Globalisation
Co-habitants
with multiple identities
Communicative
Agonistic
Liberal
Ecological/Environmental Globalisation
15
Discipleship?
PoliticalGlobalisation
Communications Globalisation
Economic Globalisation
Government
Market Economy
rights duties
Public Sphere
practice of citizenship
Trade UnionsChurchesOrganisationsFriendships
Civil Society Life World Citizens
Civic Globalisation
Co-habitants
with multiple identities
Communicative
Agonistic
Liberal
Ecological/Environmental Globalisation
16
Discipleship?
Pentecost Story - wait for Spirit, speak in
tongues, heard in own language - bilingual
Model/s of discipleship in public sphere
- resident alien - Hauerwas
- neighbourhood saint - Storrar
Binary identities and bilinguals -
co-habiting citizens and neighbourhood saints -
how?
- middle axioms? Contextualize in the local.
17
Government
Market Economy
Public Sphere
Civil Society Life World Citizens
Co-habitants
Communicative
Agonistic
Liberal
18
Some strengths and weaknesses?

• Strengths
• Public theology in the academy can address the
  poor theology represented in church and
  society.
• May help raise the tone or style of debate in the
  public sphere if theoretical and apologetic
  done well
• Can keep the church from talking to itself
• Potential to be proactive rather than reactive.
  Prepared to be there in a sustained way
• Restoration of role of theology - right to be
  there in relation to economy and political -
  common good include marginal
• New but not new. Doing it in a different context.
  Refocussing reclaiming of place of religion in
  society
• Developing new communcative strategies.
• Interdisciplinarity. Requires humility. No one
  discipline.

19

• Assumes a particular understanding of theology
• Language of challenge and respect - society and
  christian community
• Assumption - moving away from dualism of 2-world.
  Holistic
• Is citizenship and discipleship dualistic or
  holistic? - 2 interconnected
• Multidimensionality - who do we engage with? Why?
  Do own work as well as public theology.
  Engagement and dis-engagement
• Definition of public or publics. Is it only the
  domain of the academy? How to access the voices
  of the excluded others?
• Must move to praxis
• Nothing beyond our/Gods concern - need to listen
  much more than
• speaking.
• Need to listen within the christian communities
  as well as outside
• Intentionally bringing theology into the public
  debate - distinct public partner without lapsing
  into other discourses

20

• Weaknesses
• Use of the term excluded other
• Theology being done from point of power. Danger
  of tokenism
• What is the nature of the spirituality that
  will undergird or motivate public theology -
  realist/non-realist? Is it Christian?
• Might it dissolve theology into socio-political
  agenda?
• Label problematic - a strategy, an agenda, an
  intentional communicative strategy.
• Languaging - who defines public. How is the
  language being accessible to the public.
• Place where public theology is located - variety
  of places?
• Different arenas. Formulation of a language in
  the political arena.
• Challenge - need to undertake the political
  engagement in the ongoing conversation.
  Engagement with the various disciplines.
• Challenge - care with which we do this. What do
  we expect our role to be in the public arena?

21

• This is demanding - interdisciplinary, listening
  and long-term
• Conflict of interest - theologian/academy - PBRF,
  compliance ethical responsibility to represent
  Christian theology
• Critical conscience of the society, serving the
  public etc.
• Compliance and its challenge - how are we
  participating? Do we teach our students that?
  Taking a stand is difficult?
• Two-sided aspect of both strengths and weaknesses

22
What are some of the implications of the rise of
Public Theology for Aotearoa New Zealand/for
doing theology in New Zealand?

• Public Sphere?
• If it is not done in a systematic way it will be
  done in a reactive way
• Places where it is happening Social and
  Parliamentary Unit Disciplined Conversation.
  Where are some of the models?
• Dont assume it is not being done
• Need to be done at a variety of levels - public
  theologies
• Importance of the interfacing with the local
  context - local church communities learning to
  do the theology in NZ rather than done by
  academy and specialist units
• Communication demands - academy, networking with
  theologians with congregations, public policy
  makers etc.

23

• How to keep citizenship and discipleship as
  central for the churches of NZ? Keeps in the
  arena.
• Working at a variety of levels and variety of
  languages
• NZ churches- common language but different
  dialects! How to do that?
• One of cares - agreed base who works at it and
  where? - Is it a challenge to NZATS?
• Concerns come from individuals - who initiates
  what and how? - indiv? Passion and priority?
• What is it about NZ context that makes public
  theologising from other contexts people,
  history, identity, land, treaty etc. Migrant/OE
• Networks. With whom? How? At parish level, who is
  interested?
• Parish/theological networks
• Glocalisation?
• Identity and theology - an important coming
  together in public theology
• Importance of voice, of speaking, of saying where
  they come from.

24
Theological Colleges?

• Partnership between theological colleges and the
  public
• Academies trapped by the bureaucracy
• Consciously need to train theologians and others
  so that it impacts back into the churches
• Where is the engagement? Who is the public?
• Implications for theological training - to think
  in terms of public theology. How will we relate
  to this community?
• Not just ways of thinking but ways of being
• This is more than just a course. It is an
  approach.
• Using the language of mission - part of mission
  is to the/in the world. Context of discipleship
  is the world.
• Public theology not just another subject to be
  studied!!