ABSTRACT
Among living Roman Catholic theologians, David Tracy is perhaps the most original and influential American theologian in the second half of the twentieth century. He is well known not least because of his high-profile and emphatic insistence that theology has its place in the public arena. This emphasis has led him to develop a reflection on theological principles that counteracts the risk that theology can become a purely inner-churchly and isolationist activity. In this context, he is celebrated not least because of his debate with the Yale theologian George Lindbeck, who has elaborated a position that is in many ways the exact opposite of Tracy’s. At the same time, however, Tracy – unlike many in both the Catholic and the Protestant camps – is aware that theology is a hermeneutical activity that cannot be carried out independently of the conditions in contemporary culture that make understanding possible. This is why the theologian Tracy has had a strong influence on recent generations of American theologians, and he is respected far beyond the boundaries of his own church for his pioneering work on the questions mentioned here. It was thus no surprise that he was invited a few years ago to deliver the celebrated Gifford Lectures, an honor bestowed only on the most influential and pioneering of modern theologians. Tracy’s theology has also inspired and furthered the development of a more social-critical form of thinking. This prompted many of those involved in liberation study to travel to study under him.
