ABSTRACT
The exceptional situation of France, where faculties of Catholic theology are situated in private universities, and not integrated into public (state) universities (except in Strasbourg), is the context of this chapter. These private universities, equivalent in status to the public ones, are named Catholic Institutes (Instituts Catholiques). Within these institutes and also in state universities, recent developments have seen the establishment of departments of religious studies. The disciplines of theology and religious studies, while complementary, in practice are often competitive. Thiel examines the tensions between these two disciplines in approach and methodology. The chapter then focuses on the unique situation of the Alsace-Moselle region, where due to historical/political reasons faculties of Catholic and Protestant theology remained in the public (state) university. The concept of laïcité is still impacting the delivery of theology in these universities as this chapter demonstrates.
