Omar Ha-Redeye has accepted an invitation to serve on the Advisory Council for the Centre for Public Theology (CPT).The mission of the CPT, which is housed at Huron College at the University of Western Ontario, is listed on their new site:
Our goal is not advocacy so much as intelligence – in a better informed academy, in a more discerning church and other religious institutions, and finally, in a public that is better educated in the religious and ethical dimensions of societal issues, in full view of a world in which religious conviction is of massive and increasing public importance.
The Centre's intention is thus to promote critical theological research and publication on issues of concern facing our society in an increasingly globalized world. A cycle of topics relating to politics and justice, human life, and the environment will be examined. Over the next three years, these topics will come to focus in the following: Canada's role in Afghanistan; HIV infection and AIDS; and finally, the threat of climate change and the question of energy policy.
The CPT is connected to the Global Network for Public Theology (GNPT), which is chaired by Prof. Nico Koopman of South Africa. The administrative centre for the GNPT is the Centre for Theological Inquiry at the Princeton Theological Seminary.
The purpose of the CPT can be further explained,
The CPT was established through a SSHRC major grant to promote research, reflection and disseminate constructive theological interaction concerning Canadian public life between the academy and other non-traditional University stakeholders include NGOs, Faith-Based Groups (FBOs), Politicians, Media and interested persons in the general public. The Centre, however, is NOT an advocacy group for a religious or theological tradition but a nexus from which Canadian based and international theologians, social scientists and other scholars, together with religious leaders, policy makers, NGO/FBOs, media and the public can engage in constructive dialogue on theological, moral and cultural issues that frame current and historic Canadian context in the area of public life, policy and service.(continue reading &aquo;)
