WCC news: WCC general secretary speaks on public theology in a fractured world

During a keynote speech at the Global Network for Public Theology conference, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay reflected on why public theology cannot remain an abstract academic exercise but must ask how Christian faith is to be articulated, embodied, and witnessed within the public realities of a wounded world. Photo: Sean Hawkey/WCC 20 October 2026 “We live in a world increasingly characterized by fracture and fragmentation,” noted Pillay. “Human beings are increasingly divided from one another, communities are separated by competing narratives of identity and belonging, nations are increasingly suspicious of one another, and religious communities can themselves become instruments of exclusion rather than agents of reconciliation.” At the same time, humanity is experiencing a profound crisis of meaning, Pillay added. “Technological progress has not necessarily produced moral progress,” he said. “Greater connectivity has not necessarily produced deeper communion.” It is precisely within such a context that public theology becomes urgent, reflected Pillay. “Public theology asks what Christian faith means within the concrete realities of public life,” he said. “What kind of public theology is required when the public itself is fractured?” The task is not merely to make Christianity heard, Pillay continued. “Public theology, therefore, should not become another isolated programme,” he said. “Public theology therefore differs from political advocacy in an important respect.” Pillay further noted that the biblical narrative does not present salvation merely as an individual experience of private spirituality. “God's covenant concerns communities,” he said. “The question is what kind of public presence Christianity embodies.” Humanity faces crises that no nation or institution can solve alone, Pillay emphasized. “The fragmentation of the world therefore exists alongside unprecedented interconnectedness. We are simultaneously more connected and more divided,” he said. “This paradox constitutes one of the central challenges for contemporary public theology.”Public theology must therefore move beyond a model in which theology simply enters an already functioning public sphere, said Pillay. “It must critically examine the forces that fragment public life itself.” WCC general secretary to speak at Global Network for Public Theology conference (WCC news release, 19 October 2026) See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland