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In this article, I reflect on the role that the teaching of Christian theology would play in the curricula of those universities that understand themselves as places of Christian-inspired culture. I begin with a brief historical overview of the presence of theology in the context of university studies, recalling the views outlined in their respective epochs by Immanuel Kant, John Henry Newman, and Karl Rahner. Following Benedict XVI's call to expand the boundaries of rationality, I also consider how such an expansion should include theology as well as other sources of knowledge. I then suggest what characteristics theology should have when it is taught in the context of a public university campus. It happens, for instance, that some 'Catholic' and Christian-inspired universities decide to include some theological programs. In such a public context, Christian theology is called to explore the relationship between the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the God of philosophers and scientists, to highlight the ultimate questions raised by the sciences and by philosophical thought in general, and to relate them to the content of Revelation. For theology, this means having sufficient knowledge of the other sciences, and being aware that the Word of God also has something to say about the physical universe and the whole of human history, as they are studied by contemporary scientific culture. In this respect, fundamental theology seems to have a more appropriate method than dogmatic or moral theology, at least for initiating interdisciplinary dialogue in a university context. Finally, I suggest that in order to preserve and promote the Christian identity of a Catholic university, whether legally or de facto Catholic, it is not enough to teach theology or even to have a theology department, nor is it enough to offer activities of spiritual formation. Since Christian inspiration and identity are inherent in academic life and culture, in order to preserve and nourish them, we also need the theology taught in these institutions to have a clear scientific status and a good academic level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper briefly examines the influence of Blaise Pascal on theology, showing the themes and areas in which the French thinker has been taken up and employed as a source of inspiration. In particular, an essential comparison is offered between the project of Pascal's Apologia and the characteristics of contemporary fundamental theology. Finally, the question is posed whether Pascal's method of awakening Christian faith in the disengaged milieu of French libertines is still relevant today in the climate of religious indifference typical of post-modern society. It is suggested that the anthropological problem posed by Pascal, can still continue to interrogate contemporary man, showing him how the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ is capable of satisfying his existential anxieties and fulfilling to his highest aspirations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After having briefly contextualized the historical relationship between the Catholic Church and scientific thought, the article examines references to science presented in the documents of the Second Vatican Council, focusing in particular on the influence of science of contemporary mentality and therefore on new evangelization. Some significant ideas are analysed above all in the "Gaudium et Spes". These ideas are important both for the role of the sciences in the development of contextual knowledge for faith, and with regard to the participation of typical human activities, and thus also scientific research, in the Easter mystery of Jesus Christ. Consequently, elements of conciliar doctrines are referred to regarding the autonomy of temporal reality, including their implicit reference to the "Galileo affair", in conclusion signaling the principal developments in the subsequent relationship between Church magisterium and scientific thought, after Vatican II. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]