"Christianity is not transmitted solely through doctrines, but also through ways of viewing reality"

How does Christianity engage with today’s major challenges? On June 15, 16, and 17, the campus will host the first “Christianity and Contemporary Culture” summer course. In this interview, Mariano Crespo, director of Master's Degree, reveals the program’s key features.

Q. Where did the idea to promote course come from? Who is it intended for?

A. This summer course originated from the “training week” that used to conclude the Master's Degree Christianity and Contemporary Culture (MCCC). It consists of a series of lectures, roundtable discussions, and events organized by Cultural Activities Office, among others, that revisit some of the central themes of Master's Degree. In recent months, we have decided that it might be a good idea to transform this initiative into a summer course open not only to MCCC students, but also to faculty and staff at the University, as well as the general public.

Q. If you had to choose three key takeaways or highlights from the summer course that would contribute to the training professionals in various sectors, what would they be?

A. I would say that there are, in fact, four central themes to which we have chosen to dedicate this first edition of the summer course. They pertain to what has recently been referred to as the“Catholic turn”: the Christian identity of Education, the relationship between science and religion, and the discussion Christianity and liberalism, viewed from both historical and contemporary perspectives.

Q. How can a deeper understanding of humanistic issues contribute to the training professionals? In what ways can it help improve their work?

A. It can make a very significant contribution because our university is an institution whose identity is not purely technical or management assistant, but rather university-based in the truest sense: a community dedicated to truth, service to the individual, and training . The course’s contribution can be seen on several levels: from a deeper understanding of the meaning of work, to the improvement of attention and communication, adaptability, and critical thinking, and even in the building of community.

Q. Talking about Christian identity in our professional settings can be a challenge days. What practical tools does this course offer to help that identity come through naturally and appealingly in our professional lives?

A. I believe that one of the most valuable contributions of this course is that it highlights how Christian identity can be expressed intellectually, culturally, and pedagogically, without seeming artificial. In this regard, the session on “the Catholic imagination” addresses a core topic : Christianity is transmitted not only through doctrines, but also through ways of viewing reality.

Furthermore, the course aims to help integrate faith and contemporary culture without taking a defensive tone. It offers concrete models of calm intellectual dialogue. Finally, I believe this course can help us understand that identity is transmitted above all through the unity of intellectual life.

Q. What are the main challenges facing educational institutions that this course aims to address?

A. Among the main challenges, I would highlight, among others, the fragmentation of knowledge, the loss of a humanistic perspective, and the challenge integrating science and religion. This course aims to address these challenges through dialogue between science, philosophy, literature, politics, and Education, and by reaffirming the university as a cultural space where truth, training , anthropological reflection, and the ethical dimension of knowledge are central.

Q. There’s a lot of talk these days about polarization. How financial aid course financial aid young people learn to engage in dialogue with those who think differently, using Christian humanism as a bridge rather than a barrier?

A. The course is rooted in a deeply humanistic conviction: authentic dialogue does not arise from downplaying one’s own convictions, but from understanding that every person deserves to be heard and taken intellectually seriously. In a university setting, often marked by ideological polarization, social media, and the oversimplification of opponents, this course offers cultural and intellectual tools to rebuild a genuine culture of meeting. The very design the program points in that direction.

Q. Would you like to comment or add anything?

A. I would add perhaps four key points that make this program particularly interesting in today’s university context. First, it is not an “internal” or self-referential course, but rather an attempt at a cultural dialogue with the contemporary world. Second, the course addresses complex issues, which are not presented in binary or propagandistic terms, but as genuine intellectual challenges.

Third, the course aims to replace the logic of confrontation with that of meeting . Christian humanism has historically been fruitful precisely because it has been able to foster a shared culture, not merely a group identity. Fourth and finally, we aim to strengthen the link between faith and cultural creativity. The presence of writers, photographers, journalists, and editors suggests something important: faith generates not only doctrines or norms, but also imagination, language, symbols, and cultural forms.

Overall, it helps to shape individuals who are capable of engaging intellectually with the contemporary world without compromising a Christian identity that is reflective, open to dialogue, and culturally enriching.