RITE &REASON:Within the contemporary university, wisdom is often neglected in favour of knowledge, skills and know-how, writes David Ford.
THE IRISH School of Ecumenics (ISE) has been one of the most imaginative and important academic and institutional developments in Ireland in the past half century.
The book that Michael Hurley and his fellow directors have produced* gives us the chance to see from the inside how they approached the daunting task of developing a new institution.
At the heart of it, as so often, is the vision of one person, Michael Hurley. But, as Linda Hogan, his current successor, writes: "It is becoming increasingly manifest that the original vision of the founder has the capacity to become exponentially greater and will enable ISE to respond with vigour to the increasingly complex issues of today."
That is the long-term test of a vision, and Michael Hurley passes it with flying colours. He was ahead of his time in how he brought ecumenism among churches together with interfaith dialogue and dedication to religious, political and cultural reconciliation across some of the deepest differences in our world.
Hurley's daring alliance of faith with intellect and institutional creativity has challenged the religious and the non-religious to take seriously the role of religion in healing the contemporary world.
It is striking that some of the key players in the story, especially within Trinity College, are not themselves religious but have yet worked hard to establish ISE on a sound footing.
I see such alliances as vital to a peaceful future in all the major spheres of life. We can no longer claim to live in a secular world, but nor is it simply religious; rather, it is complexly religious and secular at the same time.
There is no necessary conflict between the two on many matters. There are many sophisticated interplays of both, and no single global direction of "progress" - whether towards being "more secular" or "more religious". Big issues often require understanding, negotiation and collaboration across both religious and secular divides.
The ISE has pioneered this in relation to both Irish and international issues and, as Linda Hogan's look ahead suggests, it is now well placed to serve the needs not just of Ireland but also of other parts of the world in the coming century.
Already it has generated a great deal of intellectual and practical energy in the service of reconciliation, and its alumni are working out its ideals around the world.
Now that it is integrated into Trinity College, ISE faces the challenge of finding a contemporary wisdom. Within Christian theology, wisdom has generally been seen as present not only within but also beyond the church, and other religions have analogous positions.
Within the contemporary university, wisdom is often neglected in favour of knowledge, skills and know-how, but the pressure to take seriously the responsibilities accompanying the power of knowledge and its applications has helped to bring it back on to the agenda under various headings.
These are often concerned with values, ethics, leadership and professional formation. The ISE vision is an appeal for "joined-up wisdom" relating to churches, religions and society. So its core challenge is to be a wisdom-seeking institution for the university and the wider society. Can TCD, with the help of ISE, be a multifaith and secular university that serves the common good of a multifaith and secular world?
A further, perhaps unfashionable, point needs to be made about the future of ISE: it should beware of neglecting or short-changing the intra-Christian ecumenical commitment.
The temptation in a university context, and also in relation to a world where the main urgencies appear to be reconciliation and peace-making in the interfaith and various societal contexts, is to see the divisions among Christians as less important.
I think it is not so much a matter of importance ratings as of the deep interrelation of them all, as in the core vision of ISE.
One key thing I have learnt from interfaith engagement is that, beyond the initial phase with its difficulties, novelties and excitements, it only goes really well if going deeper into the faith of others is accompanied by simultaneously going deeper into one's own faith. And it is difficult to go deeper into Christian faith without being scandalised by the divisions among Christians.
* The Irish School of Ecumenics (1970 -2007) will be launched in Dublin by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin on Thursday
• Dr David Ford is Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge