Revisiting a Neglected Theological Current: A Historico-Critical Investigation into the ‘Theology of the Temporal’ and the Malines Text.

This research project will address the theological currents of theology of the temporal and Christian humanism: (A) It aims to describe in context the success of these currents present in the work and actions of Gustave Thils, Gerard Philips,Charles Moeller and Albert Dondeyne. (B) It will consider systematically their accomplishment to determine the debates surrounding this neglected currents of theology before and their reception during the Second Vatican Council. These aims will be established as follows: (i) We examine how from the 1940s onwards in the context of the newly founded Higher Institute for Religious Sciences for the laity Thils, Philips, Moeller andDondeyne would prove to have success with their theology of the temporal and Christian humanism. Each one of them focused on the same item but used different approaches. The interest in the 'de temporalibus' became a theological and cultural issue of this school. Their works not only made them renowned in an international context, but also influenced important Vatican II dossiers, such as the role and place of the Church in the world. (ii) We will study how these four men drafted the Malines Text together with other Louvain and international theologians.Although this text, which opened Vatican II to the world, seemed new,it actually introduced ideas, which had been clearly prepared in previous years in constant dialogue with like-minded theologians and laity.</>

Keywords:Twentieth-Century Theology

Disciplines:Theology and religious studies

Project type:PhD project