Public theology

Public theology is the Christian engagement and dialogue within the church and especially with the larger society. It seeks the welfare of the state and a fair society for all by engaging issues of common interest to build the common good. This is Christian theology that talks with society not just to society. This is done by presenting the Christian position in a way that can be publicly understood and thereby open to public debate and critical enquiry.

The term "public theology" was first coined by Martin Marty to contrast against civil religion. Civil religion looks more generally at religion in relation to the state, whereas public theology is rooted in a Christian standpoint and identity as it considers its contributions to the society and the state. 

David Tracy asked what the "public" in "public theology" meant. He identifies three publics that public theology should try to engage in dialogue with: the society, the academy and the church. He suggests that, given these publics, the language and rationale used should be openly assessable by all and not couched in theologically elitist terms. Since Tracy identified these three publics, others have suggested the addition of other "publics" such as economics, law, the market, media, and other religious communities.

Harold Breitenberg suggests that most literature on public theology falls into one of three classes. Firstly, there are studies on key public theologians and how they understand the topic. Secondly, there are discussions on the nature and the shape of public theology. Lastly, there is "constructive public theology" which is the actual doing of public theology. The first two aim at developing public theology as a field of study while the last one is the practical application of it.

Some notable figures in this field are Dietrich Bonhoeffer, William Temple, Martin Luther King Jr., Desmond Tutu, Jürgen Moltmann, Ronald Thiemann, Dorothee Soelle, John Courtney Murray, Reinhold Niebuhr, Duncan Forrester, Max Stackhouse, and Sebastian C. H. Kim. 

...
Wikipedia