THEOLOGY IN UNIVERSITY: THE PROBLEM OF LEGITIMATION

Abstract

The issue posed in this paper is the problem of academical presence of theology, which refers to the question of the factors determining the possibility or impossibility of theology functioning in the space of the secular university. A vast research material is provided by the current situation relating to the process of academic expansion of theology which is being realized in Russia.The development of the issue combines the approaches proposed by sociology of knowledge and political philosophy. The problem of the academic presence of theology is presented as a special case of the problem of legitimation posed by sociology of knowledge, which constitutes the problem of organizing the maintenance of the social universe or subuniverses. Consequently, theology attempts to get into the academic space result in its interaction with the existing legitimation of the university. In the framework of this interaction, theology can implement either conservation strategies (theology determines itself in such a way to correspond to the prevailing legitimation of the university) or strategies of subversion (within the framework of this strategy, theology points to the problematic moments of the prevailing legitimation of the university and requires their rethinking or transformation). Conservation and subversion strategies are implemented both in cognitive and political aspects.The result of the research is a description of the elements of the university’s prevailing legitimation (at the same time, these elements are the factors of theology’s delegitimation), which serve for theology both as “challenges” and its corresponding “answers” (conservation and subversion strategies).

Keywords

• problem of the academic presence of theology
• theology
• university
• education
• legitimation
• conservation strategies
• strategies of subversion
• social universe
• knowledge