Abstract:
The complex and problematic role of religion in the public sphere in modern, democratic societies
raises many questions for a public theology. The aim of this article is to contribute to the ongoing
debate about the task and methods of public theology by asking what we can learn from the
ideas of Jürgen Habermas. Habermas was a leading participant in the thinking process on the
secularisation thesis in Western societies. His view was that religion will eventually disappear
from the public scene due to the rationalisation of society. In recent years he seems to have
changed this view in the light of new developments in the world. He now maintains that religion
has something important to offer in the public sphere. Religion could thus participate in this
public discussion, provided that it satisfies strict conditions. We argue that public theology can
learn from Habermas’s recent ideas regarding religion in the public sphere: attention should be
paid to the cognitive potential of religion, especially regarding the importance of the lifeworld
and the role of religion in social solidarity with the needy and vulnerable; hermeneutical
self-reflection is important; a distinction should be made between the role of religion in faith
communities and in public life; we have to accept that we live in a secular state; and we have to
learn the possibilities and impossibilities of translating from religious vocabulary into a secular
vocabulary in order to be able to participate in the discussions in the public sphere.
