T9653
Course Unit Outline
Unit Code
T9653
Unit Name
Faith and Theology in Context
Unit Weighting
9 credit points
Type of Unit
Specialised
Prerequisites
27 credit points from Theology units in 7300 series or above
Academic Staff
Rohan Curnow, BA (ANU, 1998); BTheol (ACU, 2004); MA (ACU, 2002); MTh (SCD, 2006); Dip.
Lonergan Studies (Adv.) (Regis College, 2009); STL (Regis College, 2009).
Curriculum Objectives
This graduate course unit enables students to understand the manner in which social and cultural
context affects faith. It challenges students to develop explicit approaches to the task of
expounding major doctrines in response to contemporary issues.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this unit students will be able to:
1. demonstrate an advanced understanding of the differences between/among theological
methods in different periods of history
2. critically discern the primary social and cultural influences affecting the possibility of religious
faith in the 21st century
3. comprehensively analyse and identify the salient characteristics of a selection of contemporary
theological methods
4. accurately evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of contemporary contextual theology
5. respond to contemporary challenges to faith from a nuanced and mature theological
perspective
Threshold concept to be acquired in this unit
Nil
Content
1. An introduction to contextual theologies
2. Forms and methods of contextual theology
3. The relationships among faith, spirituality, culture
4. Postmodern challenges to faith and philosophical/theological responses
5. Fundamentalism as a contemporary religious phenomenon
6. Theology and authority
Learning Activities
Lecture, Seminar
Required Specialist Facilities or Equipment
Nil
Assessment Profile
Assessment tasks are designed both to help students attain the unit outcomes and to enable
teachers to assess student attainment. In this unit, the required assessment tasks will enable
students to demonstrate how successfully they can:
1. Articulate a thorough understanding of the manner in which, social, and cultural issues
facilitate or confound the possibility of religious faith (e.g., essay, journal). [Outcomes 2, 3 and
4]
2. Creatively apply their understanding of the methods of contextual theology to the task of
constructing a theological response to postmodern challenges to faith (e.g., long essay).
[Outcomes 1, 3 and 5]
Representative References
1. Aguilar, Mario. The History and Politics of Latin American Theology. 3 Volumes. London: SCM
Press, 2007-2008.
2. Althaus-Reid, Marcella. Controversies in Feminist Theology. London: SCM Press, 2007.
3. Baum, Gregory. Critical Theology. Kansas: Sheed & Ward, 1994.
4. Chung, Paul, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen & Kim Kyoung-Jae. Asian Contextual Theology for the Third
Millenium: Theology of Minjung in Fourth-Eye Formation. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2007.
5. Doran, Robert. Theology and the Dialectics of History. Toronto: UofT Press, 1990.
6. Harison, Victoria. Religion and Modern Thought. London: SCM Press, 2007.
7. Lennan, Richard (ed). The Possibility of Belief: Challenges and Prospects of Catholic Faith.
Strathfield: St Pauls, 2004.
8. Metz, Johann Baptist. A Passion for God: The Mystical Political Dimension of Christianity. New
York: Paulist, 1998.
9. Taylor, Charles. A Secular Age? Cambridge, MA: HUP, 2007.
10. Vanhoozer, Kevin. The Cambridge Companion to Postmodern Theology. Cambridge University
Press, 2003.