Teaching Theology in a Global Context

William A. Dyrness

Dwight N. Hopkins

Kwok Pui-lan

Dwight N. Hopkins

Despite the evident globalization of Christianity and the increasingly diverse character of our congregations and students, the pedagogy of teaching theology has not changed to address the new global situation.

Theological education in the U.S. has become a transnational enterprise. As a result, theological schools have sought to make their curricula responsive to the growing ethnic diversity of their students. Courses have been added on culture and ethnicity; history and ministry courses have included more diverse material; and many students and faculty have lived and/or traveled abroad. But up to this point the pedagogy within theology courses has not changed much.

More importantly, it has yet to engage constructively with the diversity of theological traditions both inside and outside of the U.S. As a result, students have come away feeling the tension between their experience and traditional pedagogies. Meanwhile, growing conversations, like those centered on comparative theology (and philosophy) and postcolonial theology, offer significant resources that have yet to be explored.  



Kwok Pui-lan

In the past two decades, there has been a growing body of literature on global theology and the construction of theological doctrines, such as creation and trinity, from an intercultural or global perspective. One particular volume talks about the importance of shaping a “global theological mind” so that students can be better prepared to be leaders and ministers in this increasingly interconnected world.

But a review of the 18 syllabi posted in the Syllabus Project of the American Academy of Religion in the category Theology (Christian) shows that except for the course on “Jesus across Cultures,” the other syllabi indicate: (1) there is little emphasis on the global nature of theology and the growing body of literature on the subject, (2) the majority of required texts are written by white European and Euro-American male theologians, (3) none or only one required text is by a theologian outside North America, usually from Latin America, such as Gustavo Gutiérrez or Leonardo Boff, and (4) there is minimal acknowledgment of the contribution of the work of racial and ethnic minority scholars in the United states.

William A. Dyrness

Theology is a longstanding discipline and occupies a central place in the theological curriculum. The ways that teachers approach the subject will shape the cultural ethos of the school and educational experience of students. William A. Dryness, Dwight N. Hopkins, and Kwok Pui-lan gathered a group of theologians and ethicists from Catholic, Protestant Mainline, Pentecostal, and Evangelical traditions from November 21-22, 2011 to discuss strategies of teaching theology in a global world.

We discussed some of these questions:

·         What developments in western theology have raised questions that cannot be answered by western theologians alone? For example, perhaps the intense attention to worship renewal and liturgical history, or the growth of the field of comparative theology offers bridges by which theological questions can be approached in non-traditional ways.

·         Where today are connections being made by Christians and people of faith from multiple settings that might have potential for raising (new) theological questions? (e.g., refugees, immigrant congregations, faith-based development programs, etc.).

·         Where do we find sources to teach global theology? Where do we go (figuratively) to listen? Who do we listen to and who are conversation partners for developing global theology? Books and articles are part of it, but that is only the start. What are the sources locally: students in our classes and ethnic enclaves in our cities, etc? Online resources? Study centers? Global networks?

·         What are the strategies of changing the theological curriculum as a whole to respond to our global context? How can we solicit support from colleagues who teach in traditional ways? How can we change institutional structures and ethos when we are not tenured? How can we form allies?

Members of the group hope to work toward a book to offer some answers to these questions and will share our insights along the way in this blog. We welcome your ideas and suggestions.

* William A. Dyrness is Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary. Dwight N. Hopkins is Professor of Theology at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Kwok Pui-lan is William F. Cole Professor of Christian Theology and Spirituality at the Episcopal Divinity School.