Folia Theologica 10. (1999)
John P. Galvin: Theology in the United States
82 J. P. GALVIN Dulles, Francis Schüssler Fiorenza, and David Tracy — and give a brief description of the chief characteristics of each author’s work. The final part (III) will discuss three topics of current interest to American Catholic theologians: the historical Jesus; feminist theology; and theological method. The first lecture will cover the first two parts of the overall presentation, while Part III will be reserved for the second lecture. A colloquium will be conducted tomorrow, with time for questions, which may be addressed to me directly in English or German, or indirectly through the interpreter. I also note that many of the books to which I shall refer are listed in the Select Bibliography which is being distributed this morning. I Part I will consider the social and institutional setting in which Catholic theology is taught in the United States, and also touch briefly on associations of Catholic theologians. As we know from the history of the theology — e.g., from the shifts from the mostly episcopal theology of the Fathers of the Church through the monastic theology of the early Middle Ages to the university-based Scholastic theology of the 13th century — the social and institutional setting in which theology is taught and learned has profound effects on its development. Many of the historical developments, laws and procedures which affect theology in the United States differ greatly from comparable institutions in Europe. (Canada also differs from the United States in many important respects). Since it is essential to understand the setting of American Catholic theology in order to grasp its characteristics and its problems, I will begin with a brief account of the pertinent data. 1. Let me begin with some factual information on the Catholic Church in the United States (data from 1998). Catholics comprise approximately 23% of the population of the United States, about 62,000,000 people out of a total population of 271,000,000. Most Americans are Protestant, though the Protestants are subdivided into many different denominations; the Baptists are the most numerous. The Catholic population is much larger than that of any individual Protestant church. The Orthodox churches are growing rapidly, largely due to immigration from Greece but in part also due to conversions, though remain comparatively small. About 2.2% of the total population is Jewish.
