The transformation of Academic Theology in Reunited Germany: The Controversy over the School of Jewish Theology at the University of Potsdam

In his talk, prof. dr. Yiftach Fehige (University of Toronto) analyzes the contested institutionalization of Jewish theology in contemporary Germany, focusing on the founding and crisis of the School of Jewish Theology at the University of Potsdam. It situates this development within broader debates over the scientific status of theology and the conditions under which it gains institutional legitimacy in secular, democratic societies. Following Paul Feyerabend’s theology sensitive call to contextualize science in its historical and sociological dimensions, the paper challenges essentialist accounts of both science and religion. It argues that the emergence of academic Jewish theology in Germany must be understood as part of a shifting landscape of public knowledge production, shaped by political culture, communal authority, and contested epistemic norms. In doing so, it contributes to current debates about pluralism, religious authority, and the role of theology in the modern university.

This event takes place both online and on site at VU. Please email FOAT@vu.nl if you want to attend this meeting online to receive the link to the live stream