The Spirit of Urbanism: Faith and Urban Life

This course will equip students to reflect critically and theologically upon various aspects of urban existence, to discern the implicit theological dimensions of urban life, to participate meaningfully in contemporary discourses about the city, and to cultivate a distinctively urban spirituality.
Urbanism, simply put, consists in a desire to transform the city we have into the city we love --the city of "our heart's
desire." It is, therefore, less about defining "the meaning of the city" (J. Ellul) and more about identifying and encouraging a certain quality of urban life. It is this qualitative aspect of urbanist theory and practice that lends itself to theological reflection and provides an opportunity to better understand the complexities of faithful life and ministry in the contemporary city.