ABSTRACT
This chapter examines some key characteristics of public theology, both as a descriptive and a normative category. It also examines the development of the idea of public theology in the United States. Public theology as a mode of inquiry relates to the intersection of Christian theology with the entirety of human life. The purpose of public theology is to give a Christian account of public life in all of its complexity. The chapter provides a preliminary sketch of the tasks that public theology needs to undertake in engaging in such interdisciplinary conversation. The three factors, the analytic, interpretive, and constructive, describe the interaction of theology with broader questions of public concern. Analysis can take a number of different forms, depending on the way in which theology is engaging in public discourse. Interpretation involves going beyond the description of a situation or problem, and attempting to understand it in light of the gospel.
