Rousseau’s Contribution to Public Theology

Abstract

This article argues that Jean-Jacques Rousseau can be seen as a public theologian by analyzing two well-known treatises. It draws on the Latin root of the concept of the ‘public’, in order to underscore the anthropology and sociology of public life. The article argues that Rousseau is a public theologian as his public policy of social organization, presupposes anthropological and sociological views of humanity that parallel views found in Christian theology.