ABSTRACT
Secularism is characterized by Paul Ricoeur as the 'the emancipation of most human activities from the influence of ecclesiastical institutions'. If such is the case, in a way, it may exist only on the level of, or upon intervention of, institutional configurations. 'Ricoeur's reflection on the university has been ignored by most of his commentators despite the fact that there is much food for thought there'. Three reasons come to mind why understanding the university is relevant. First, it is an institution where its primal task is the pursuit for truth. Thus, it is an institution that engenders an integrative character with fewer constraints compared to other social institutions. Second, emanating from the first, it will allow to re-evaluate secular institutions – seeing the university as a microcosm of the society. Third, the university itself resides in an ambiguous position between civil and state responsibility – the university, as such, is a point of intersection.
