Ecumenical Theology—Profession or Vocation?

Abstract

“ ‘Will we, in the coming years, do our work primarily as a church vocation or as an academic profession, and how will our answer to that question affect our contribution to the ecumenical movement?’ … The academic theologian will probably continue to stress the importance of such agencies as AAR and SBL more than such agencies as NCC or WCC. Confining ourselves to our work as university theologians, then, I think that the trend is definitely downward in terms of both the quantity and the quality of ecumenicity. It is possible for a religion department to be staffed with top scholars from many confessions and the total ecumenical result yet be absolutely nil.”