Christ's Counter-Kingdom
Why Public Theology is a Bad Idea
Kenneth R. Craycraft Jr.
January 1, 1995
In the last several years, Christian moral theology (or Christian ethics) has seen the rise of a distinct branch 'of ethical reflection often called "Christian social ethics" or "public theology." Max Stackhouse of Princeton Seminary, Robert Benne of Roanoke College, David Hollenbach, S.J. of Boston College, and Robin Lovin of the University of Chicago are but a few examples of the many professional theologians who consider themselves (or are considered by their peers) to be social ethicists or "public theologians."
Although the various practitioners of this new discipline diverge widely in their methods and conclusions, a major thread seems to tie these various thinkers together. Unlike their forerunners—such theologians as Walter Rauschenbusch, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Paul Tillich, who pursued a theological critique of political, economic, and cultural conclusions based upon what the church knows about God and man—these public theologians do theology for the sake of underwriting a particular vision of economics, politics, and culture. That is, the collective task of public theology has been to show that, despite all the apparent success of liberal democracy and market economics (however heavily or lightly regulated) theology still has something to say to people and society. To prove that theology is still relevant, public theologians aim to show how it can give even better reasons for the goodness of democracy and the virtues of citizenship than secular democratic theorists can. In short, Christian theology must be translated into other political terms.
Reconciling Christianity and political systems
John Courtney Murray, S.J., who could be seen as the major transitional figure to explicit public theology, wrote the following ...
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