Theology in the University: What's Next?

Drawing on my leadership experiences in the academy, particularly as Dean of a theological faculty in a secular, public university (Université Laval), and my recent participation in the Synod on Synodality, I continue my reflections on the future of academic theology that I began in a Toronto Journal of Theology article on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Toronto School of Theology. I argue that drawing on the historical impetus of the creation of two Roman Catholic universities in 1852 (one in Quebec, the other in Ontario), theological institutions must think about social context and pertinence beyond the university. We cannot think abstractly about the development of our theological institutions. It would also be bad advice to consider it only by comparing them to other institutions around the world or by taking as a reference the criteria and strategies common to the development of university institutions. We should not exclude these approaches, but in this article I highlight the obligation to reflect in context; our institutions must never become detached from their social and ecclesial environment. After discussing the reasons that led to the creation of Catholic universities in Canada in the nineteenth century, the article highlights two challenges: the social progress of marginalized communities through access to university education, and the training of workers to the vineyard of the Lord, in particular the formation in synodality.