Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE FDT5600

 
TITLE The Church at the Margins: Select Issues on Christianity and Culture Today

 
UM LEVEL 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course

 
MQF LEVEL 7

 
ECTS CREDITS 5

 
DEPARTMENT Fundamental and Dogmatic Theology, including Ecumenism

 
DESCRIPTION There has been consistent debate in Ecclesiology throughout the 20th century and particularly in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council. Much of the debate focussed mainly on the perception people have of the church and the way the church itself was projecting its own image. This Study-unit shall seek to investigate what was happening in this field, in particular why people were having more problems with 'belonging' rather than with 'believing'. This challenged all along the church to respond more adequately to the emerging and evolving cultural issues of modern-day society. One major issue to be examined is that of 'Pluralism' in all senses, religious, moral, cultural, etc. Acknowledging this new state of affairs, the church had to adjust into what David Tracy calls an 'uneasy alliance' with modern or post-modern society.

Study-Unit Aims:

- To explore the initial response to the emerging new situation already articulated in the documents of Vatican II;
- To identify the main authors in post-conciliar ecclesiology who tackled this issue of Pluralism: amongst whom Roger Haight and David Tracy;
- To establish a feasible vision for the church in present-day society, particularly in relation to politics and the religious market-place.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- To address, as one of the basic questions of theology, the question about Christianity and culture;
- To discern how the debate in Ecclesiology throughout the 20th century has developed;
- To distinguish between religious, moral and cultural 'Pluralism'.

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- To explore along with their colleagues news ways of finding ways of convergence between Christianity and cultures;
- To distinguish between 'belonging' and 'believing' in a sociological and a theological sense.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main Texts:

- CONGAR Y., Diversity and Communion, London 1984.
- MOLTMANN J., The Church in the Power of the Spirit, London 1977.
- YARNOLD E., In Search of Unity. Ecumenical Principles and Prospects, Middlegreen 1989.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture and Independent Study

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Assignment Yes 100%

 
LECTURER/S Rene Camilleri

 

 
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Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit