The Faculty of Theology at Sanata Dharma University has launched a doctoral program aimed at advancing theological reflection rooted in the cultural, religious, and social realities of Indonesia and Asia.
Jul 26, 2026
Photo courtesy of the Pontifical Wedabhakti Faculty of Theology, Sanata Dharma University.
By Mathias Hariyadi
The director general of Catholic community guidance at Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs handed over the decree authorizing the Doctoral Program in Theology on July 22, 2026.
The Faculty of Theology at the Jesuit-run university, located in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, is recognized as the Wedabhakti Pontifical Faculty of Theology.
The handover marked the opening of the doctoral program and reaffirmed the faculty’s mission to contribute to the development of a Church rooted in local realities and the promotion of a more dignified society.
The mission stems from an awareness that Indonesia and Asia are diverse regions encompassing thousands of islands, hundreds of languages, and a wide range of cultures and religions.
Societies across the region also face pressing challenges, including poverty, environmental degradation, and the overwhelming flow of information in the digital age.
“For this reason, theological reflection must emerge from the concrete realities experienced by people, enabling faith to remain relevant and closely connected to everyday life,” Father C.B. Mulyatno, head of the Faculty of Theology, told LiCAS News.
Rooted in present realities
The Faculty of Theology emphasized that God had been present and active within local cultures long before the arrival of Christianity.
Theological development, it said, must therefore be pursued through dialogue with other faith traditions, including Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. It must also embrace the values of Pancasila and the spirit of mutual cooperation known locally as gotong royong.
Such an approach allows the Church to become more closely integrated with society and to grow from Indonesia’s social and cultural context.
Contemporary challenges also continue to evolve. The digital world, climate change, mental health concerns, migration, and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence are among the issues that demand broader and deeper theological reflection.
“As a result, theological inquiry can no longer rely solely on Scripture and Church tradition. It must also engage with disciplines such as psychology, sociology, communication studies, and the natural sciences in order to offer meaningful responses to the realities faced by today’s faithful,” Mulyatno said.
Contextual theology
Through the Doctoral Program in Theology, Sanata Dharma University reaffirmed its commitment to advancing a contextual theology rooted in local cultures while remaining open to interdisciplinary and interreligious dialogue.
The program is expected to produce theologians capable of serving as bridges between faith and culture and between Church tradition and contemporary challenges.
It also continues the faculty’s historic mission of serving, educating and promoting the integral liberation and flourishing of human life.
Indonesia at the heart of intercultural theology
Asia, and Indonesia in particular, represents one of the world’s most complex meeting points of religions, cultures, ethnicities, and digital technology, Mulyatno said.
With more than 17,000 islands, over 700 local languages, and six officially recognized religions coexisting within its borders, Indonesia serves as a living laboratory for humanity and a “miniature of the world.”
“The challenges of living the Christian faith today are no longer confined to doctrinal differences. They concern how faith is lived, witnessed, and proclaimed amid religious pluralism, structural poverty, ecological crises, and the overwhelming flood of digital information,” Mulyatno said.
In Veritatis Gaudium, Pope Francis described this era of profound transformation as a kairos — a privileged moment calling ecclesiastical institutions to move beyond closed and monocultural ways of thinking.
“Within this context, theology must embrace a synodal approach that is both intercultural and interdisciplinary if it is to remain relevant, liberating, and responsive to the lived realities of God’s people,” Mulyatno said.
An intercultural and interdisciplinary theology also responds to Pope Leo XIV’s call in Magnifica Humanitas to safeguard human dignity as the guiding principle of theological reflection amid rapid technological change.
The doctoral program is founded on the conviction that God was already present and active within local cultures long before the Gospel was explicitly proclaimed.
Veritatis Gaudium identifies the spiritual, intellectual, and existential contemplation of the kerygma as the first and fundamental criterion for the renewal of ecclesiastical studies. Such contemplation must open itself to dialogue at every level — among religions, cultures, and all people seeking a more dignified and fulfilling life.
Across Asia, theological reflection enters into dialogue with Indigenous wisdom, artistic traditions, mythology, and the social structures of local communities. The intercultural approach emphasizes dialogue and inculturation, in keeping with the Church’s vision since the Second Vatican Council.
“In Indonesia, this means engaging theology in conversation with the traditions of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, while embracing the values of Pancasila and the spirit of gotong royong (mutual cooperation) that continue to shape communities throughout the archipelago,” Mulyatno said.
Such a foundation is essential if the Church is to avoid becoming a foreign presence within its own nation.
Instead, it is called to be a Church rooted in local culture, bearing a local face and serving as a friend to all — a concrete expression of the missionary spirit of “going forth” promoted by Veritatis Gaudium for Catholic institutions of higher learning worldwide.
An interdisciplinary approach
An interdisciplinary approach is also indispensable in addressing increasingly complex human realities.
Veritatis Gaudium identifies interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity as the second major criterion for renewing theological studies, recognizing that no single academic discipline can adequately respond to the major challenges confronting humanity.
Issues such as children’s formation in the digital world, climate change, mental health, migration, and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence cannot be addressed through Scripture and Church documents alone.
Magnifica Humanitas reinforces this urgency by emphasizing that artificial intelligence is not merely an additional topic or a technical problem to manage.
Rather, it represents a profound transformation that challenges the categories of the Church’s social teaching and calls for their continued development in fidelity to the Gospel.
Theology must therefore engage with psychology, anthropology, sociology, communication studies, and the natural sciences to discern the signs of the times comprehensively.
A doctor of theology can no longer be merely a scholar of sacred texts but must also become a skilled interpreter of faith for the contemporary world.
Developing effective models of children’s faith formation, for example, requires not only an understanding of mystagogy and the theology of communion but also knowledge of social media algorithms and theories of child development.
“Such an integrated approach helps ensure that human dignity—as the image of God and the central concern of Magnifica Humanitas—is never reduced to the instrumental logic of technology,” Mulyatno said.
The Doctoral Program in Theology represents a response to the needs of the Church and society in Indonesia and across Asia.
It embodies the vision for the renewal of ecclesiastical studies outlined in Veritatis Gaudium while advancing the human-centered vision articulated in Magnifica Humanitas.
The program seeks to foster a synodal culture of theological reflection and prepare scholars and pastoral leaders capable of understanding the human person in an integral way: created in the image of God, rooted in a particular cultural context, confronting the challenges of the digital age and called to communion and relationship in an increasingly technologized world.
Graduates are expected to become bridges between faith and culture, Church and society, tradition and innovation, and the Gospel and the digital world.
In the words of Magnifica Humanitas, they are called to become “weavers of hope” in an age marked by uncertainty.
Their contribution will be to help the Church in Indonesia and Asia become more fully a sign and instrument of unity, journeying together as the family of God toward salvation and eternal life.—licas.news