University theology has been taken into a Babylonian captivity by modern determinations of knowledge, its ecclesial nature crushed by the ideological authoritarianism of a sloppy liberalism. We must pray for release and, when and where possible, reconstruct an academic environment which proudly re-establishes theology as ‘queen of the sciences’. This is the core of D'Costa's fiery contribution to the contemporary debate about theology's place in the Western secular research university.
This is not just the rhetoric of an eccentric prophet, however. D'Costa carefully outlines the way in which the late modern university has failed to offer genuine methodological pluralism, being guided instead by an anachronistic trust in the neutrality and objectivity of scientific Reason. This has resulted in an intellectually stultifying and socially irresponsible homogeneity which, where it has not utterly eradicated theology from the universities' curricula, has compelled its retreat into the secular study of religions. This ‘escape from ideology’ is correctly identified as ideological itself; a truly liberal university will, in its awareness of the many competing means of faithfully describing reality, privilege no single voice but provide for authentic diversity, even if this invokes the charge of sectarianism. It is in this context that he makes a plea for a Roman Catholic university where the various disciplines, and in particular theology, are accorded their uniqueness.
D'Costa is aware of his critics' charge that such a post-liberal university thrusts scholars into linguistic bunkers, limiting inter-religious and inter-disciplinary discourse. Certainly, he replies, if theology is true to its object, then its primary activity will be prayer and its method will be shaped by the ‘dynamism’ of Trinitarian love, all naturally located within an ecclesial context. Unlike the wissenschaftlich shaping of theology as typified in the University of Berlin in 1810, this theological enterprise is ‘appropriately focused, intellectually and practically, upon worship of the triune God who reveals Himself in the particularity of a complex narration of the life of Jesus and his companions, the Church’ (p. 144). Nonetheless, this ‘particularity’ does not necessarily exclude the engagement with other religious traditions. Instead, a ‘theological religious studies’ is advocated where the methods of enquiry are tradition-specific. A detailed comparison between a Christian martyr and a Hindu sati demonstrates how this might look in practice (chapter five) and the result is indeed more informative than the ‘neutral’ scientific observations of many contemporary religionists.
What of the other academic disciplines, however? Might not D'Costa's Roman Catholic university send us back into an era of magisterial oppression of theologically unsettling scientific discoveries (Copernicus, Galileo et. al.)? Exploring the relationship between cosmology and theology, he employs the thought of John Paul II to show how a Christian university might allow for the legitimate autonomy of both the sciences and theology whilst seeking their unity through a dialogue over their methods and presuppositions. This conversation is girded by the shared truth that all disciplines are bounded within God's creation, ‘whose proper object of study is finally and only finally understood within the light of God's overall purpose for all creation, the coming of God's kingdom’ (p. 214). So governed, the anthropocentric instrumentalism which has driven the modern university is replaced by the broader vision of humanity, society and creation elucidated by the church; the Christian university would thus be an institution of enviable freedom and vision, providing an authentic forum for conflicting worldviews in an ethical context.
D'Costa's vision of a post-liberal university is radical and, as he himself admits, possibly utopian. Indeed, the pragmatist will probably ask whether the academic space has really been so defiled by an atheistic secularism as to make genuine public dialogue impossible. Might it not be preferable in our present situation for Theology to start enthusiastically conversing with the other university faculties, encouraging the many worldviews there represented to clash constructively, rather than hiding behind the walls of a Christian university. When modern Christian thought is commonly represented to consist of nothing more than creationism and a peculiar obsession with sexual ethics, the need for this kind of continued engagement with ‘secular’ thinking seems pressing. We may even be surprised by the willingness of others within the secularized academy to work for that kind of diversity which D'Costa so desires; the appeal of Richard Dawkins's worldview is clearly limited.
Such questioning may be nothing more than the tired whingeing of one still committed to the Enlightenment project and evidently others will be more sympathetic to D'Costa's assessment of modern academic behaviour. Certainly, even if his manifesto is finally thought to be impracticable in the sluggish worlds of church and university, this book remains a thought provoking and valuable contribution to a deeply emotive issue and, as a powerfully articulated call for an authentic pluralism in the public square, is worthy of a wide readership.
