Ritröð Guðfræðistofnunar - 01.09.2012, Page 23

In an article 2009 Karin Johansson mentions four main forms of rela-
tionship:
An economic relation. The church pays for courses, doctoral studies,
teachers or teaching rooms. As a rule we accept such a relation even if it
can influence the activity at the university and make way for faith-related
teaching. The universities receive a lot of money from private commercial
enterprises.
A praxis relation. The teaching includes moments of practicing a confes-
sion, like introducing a lecture by prayer or having moments that only
students of a certain confession can do. According to Swedish law all
students have to take part in all teaching and the university must not
discriminate students because of their political or religious belongings or
ideas. Here we have some problematic bordering cases: What about using
religious rooms? Or have religious moment before or after the teaching? Or
make the religious moments not obligatory?
A content relation. Here the focus is on the communication between
content of the teaching and the research. You can talk of a confession-inter-
ested teaching or a confession-relevant teaching. The church may determine
what a pastor should read at the university. It demands certain knowledge,
or certain practices, what we may call didactic, confession-related religious
studies. The demand for certain practices is the most problematic one.
A normative relation. Faith or a confession is taken as a norm for teaching
or research. Everyone has to choose a perspective for the interpretive
activity. Why not take a certain confession? The hermeneutic situation
of today makes such a question understandable. At the same time, every
perspective has to be discussed at a university and perhaps you have to
abandon the perspective you have chosen. You must give good reason for
your choice. Maybe, you may have some confessional teaching. As in the
process of doing an experiment, you have some religious premises for the
teaching or research and get some conditional results. At the same time
you have to discuss other premises and be ready to question your choice.
I do not know if such questions are discussed here in Reykjavik. The
context of the reading of the NewTestament influences your interpretation.
In church faith is a prerequisite or a result of interpretation of the New
Testament, in the university I prefer the faith as a part of a theological
hermeneutic (if-so-confessional thinking).
21