© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden,  | doi:./- International Journal of Public Theology  () – brill.com/ijpt Does Theology Belong in the University? Schleiermacherian Reflections from an Australian Context Ben Myers | orcid: ---X Director, Graduate Research School, Alphacrucis College, Sydney, Australia ben.myers25@gmail.com Abstract This article argues that theology belongs in the university not because of its relation- ship to the other disciplines but because of its relationship to the church. It discusses Schleiermacher’s understanding of theology as a practical science oriented towards Christian leadership in society. It argues that Schleiermacher’s account provides an illuminating perspective on the history of academic theology in Australia. Theology belongs in the university not for any internal methodological reasons but because of specific contextual conditions in societies like Australia where Christianity has exerted a large historical influence. The article concludes by arguing that the ecclesial orienta- tion of university theology is compatible with the aims of public theology, given that service to the Christian community is a means by which the common flourishing of society can be promoted. Keywords university – research – Schleiermacher – Australian theology – public theology Until the early nineteenth century, universities understood their vocation in terms of cultivation, formation, Bildung. Young people were to be formed in the classic virtues of the true, the good, and the beautiful. The university disci- plines were inherently conservative since their mission was to hand down the best that had been received from the past. Cultivation of a learned aristocracy depended on the transmission of an inherited civilizational legacy – hence the Downloaded from Brill.com08/29/2022 04:50:49AM via Alphacrucis College