Traditionally, theology studies in Germany are carried out at state universities, although there are exceptions, such as the Higher Schools of Philosophy and Theology of various orders - the best known is the Jesuit one in Sankt Georgen, near Frankfurt - and some under the auspices of the bishopric.
The most recent of these is the Cologne School of Catholic Theology (KHKT), the successor to the Theological Faculty of the Society of the Divine Word. These are state-recognized.
During their studies, future priests can live in community ("Konvikt"), but they only reside in the seminary once they have completed their studies.
This system has the advantage that theology interrelates with other disciplines taught and researched in the university. However, it also has its negative side due to the tension between freedom of research and professorship, on the one hand, and submission to the doctrine of the faith, on the other.
For the appointment of professors of theology at state universities, the approval of the Church is required, as stipulated in the concordats. Concretely, this means that the Ministry of Science of a federal state consults the relevant diocesan bishop if it has any reservations about the teaching or lifestyle of a particular candidate or if there is nothing to prevent his appointment ("nihil obstat").
According to the indications of the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education (now "Dicastery for Culture and Education") of March 25, 2010, the diocesan bishop must first request the "Roman nihil obstat": submit a request to the aforementioned dicastery, which studies it in an "interdicasterial" procedure, with the participation of other Vatican dicasteries, in particular that of the Doctrine of the Faith.
However, during the last decades, in the faculties of theology, "freedom of research" seems to prevail over obedience or loyalty to the Magisterium. This has concrete consequences, for example, in the German "Synodal Way".
One of its main representatives, Thomas Söding, vice-president of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) and of the Synodal Way itself, is professor of New Testament exegesis at the University of Bochum.
At the last assembly of the ZdK, it became clear how this "exegesis" works: in connection with a letter sent on January 16, 2023 by the Cardinal Secretary of State and the Cardinal Prefects of the Dicasteries for the Doctrine of the Faith and for Bishops, with the express approval of Pope Francis, it was stated: "Neither the Synodal Way, nor a body designated by it, nor an episcopal conference has the competence to institute a Synodal Council at either the national, diocesan or parish level".
Instead of reflecting on its clear content and drawing the appropriate conclusions, one interprets the alleged reasons why the Pope or the cardinals of the Curia might have issued such a prohibition. Thomas Söding, literally: "In this letter, in my opinion, the objection expressed from Rome was formulated very clearly that there should neither be a Synodal Council at the federal level, which is, so to speak, a higher authority than the Bishops' Conference, nor that the bishop - to use my own words - is a kind of Manager of a Synodal Council. The Synodal Committee is precisely not intended to relativize and take power away from the bishop".
In an essay published on the official website of the German Bishops' Conference "katholisch.de", Ulrich Körtner, Professor of Systematic Theology (Reformed Theology) at the Faculty of Protestant Theology, and Jan-Heiner Tück, Professor of Dogmatics and History of Dogma at the Faculty of Catholic Theology, both at the University of Vienna, address the current situation in the faculties of theology.
According to the authors, "there has long been a certain tendency to 'deepen' theology in the sense of interdisciplinary religious research, which increasingly distances itself from the churches and prefers to deal with 'lived' or 'invisible' religion".
Rather than criticizing the hierarchy - "the days when academic theology was primarily a critique of the Pope and the Church are probably also over, since the few people who are interested in ecclesiastical theology today are increasingly turning to ecclesiastical or evangelical training centers for study" - they argue that current theology "is turning out to be a mediocre form of religious sociology".
In a process of secularization and also of "individualization of religion" there arises a widespread opinion - the authors continue - of the existence of an "invisible religion", which they describe as a "myth based on the erroneous idea that every answer to questions of meaning is religious".
On the one hand, the idea that it is possible to live Christianity outside the Church has turned out to be "largely an illusion", because "without a connection to the Church, beliefs and practices evaporate".
On the other hand, also in the Church and in theology "there is a danger that the Christian faith will evaporate into a Christianity without Christ", because instead of speaking of the God of revelation, in many cases we speak of the question of migration and climate protection.
In this case, "God is above all a vague 'cipher' that serves to elevate morale, but which can also be dispensed with if necessary when forging alliances with other parts of civil society."
The solution, according to these authors, is "an academic theology that thinks from and towards the Church, which, however, does not limit itself to internal ecclesiastical spheres, but seeks academic exchange with other university disciplines. However, instead of uncritically accepting the theories of sociology and philosophy and using fashionable vocabulary to give oneself a more interesting varnish, it is necessary to reappropriate hermeneutically the fundamentals of faith and incorporate them into the dialogue".
Körtner and Tück conclude: while "greater attention should be paid to the subject of the Church in all theological disciplines, this should not be confused with a clericalization of academic theology. This is, rather, in line with the findings of religious sociology, according to which religiosity and ecclesiastical affiliation go much more closely together than previously thought.
Therefore, "a contemporary theology must be understood as a stimulus to become publicly involved and to bear witness in word and deed to the gospel of God's love, which has found a concise form in the person and history of Jesus".
