The “Naked” University: What if Theology is Knowledge,Not Belief?

Abstract

Through the concept of a “naked public square,” universities, led by schools of law, have sought to purge the American polity of religious influence as thoroughly as university classrooms have been purged of religious knowledge. But even though explicit discourse about God (theology) has been decidedly out of academic fashion, academics today–often under pressure from inquisitive, religiously well-informed students–are positioned to realize that, in order to excel in their own academic fields, they need to be informed about theology more than their graduate training half a generation ago may have led them to expect.