ABSTRACT
This chapter will consider academic theology in its relationship with the secular study of literature, as “two pathways to the transcendent” – sometimes convergent, sometimes in rivalry. It will thus seek to illustrate how theology contributes, in a significant and complementary way, to the academic study of literature within the academy. Particular attention will be paid to two themes – sacramentality and tragedy – which are central to the self-understanding of both theology and of literary criticism.
