The Faculty of Theology has a tradition dating back to the 16th century. Today, it is an integral part of the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (KU) and is committed to the KU's Mission Statement.

We pursue academic theology within the sense of academic freedom of research and teaching. The basis and starting point is the revelation of God in Jesus Christ and its development in the living faith tradition of the Catholic Church. Our aim is to explore the content of Christian faith in its sources and its historical development, to reflect on its claim to validity, to bring it into a constructive dialog with the challenges of the present and to demonstrate its relevance for today. The discourse with society and the church as well as the exchange with other scientific disciplines are of particular importance for us. In order to be able to develop constructive perspectives on current challenges, ecumenism in East and West is just as important to us as dialog with other religions and world views. With the interdisciplinary exploration of different forms of spiritual life, we make a contribution to the development of individual personalities.

Thirteen professorships cover all required theological disciplines including philosophy. In addition, our Faculty has the Heisenberg Professorship of "Theology in the Transformation Processes of the Present" and the endowed professorship of "Theology of the Christian East". For all members of the Faculty, interdisciplinary discourse is just as indispensable as an international orientation. We are networked with universities and theological faculties in Europe and worldwide and benefit from the international consortium of Catholic universities. In addition, the Faculty of Theology is involved in interdisciplinary research at the KU and is a sponsor or cooperation partner of various research institutions such as the KU Center for Religion, Church and Society in Transformation (ZRKG), the Research Center Oriental Christianity, the Research Center for Medieval Religious Literature, the Central Institute for Marriage and Family in Society (ZFG) or the Central Institute for Latin American Studies (ZILAS). Intercultural exchange, cosmopolitanism and an interest in discourse are reflected in our organization of international congresses, conferences and symposia as well as in various national and international field trips.

More than 200 women and men from Germany and abroad are studying at our faculty, either in the Magister program (full-time studies) or in teacher training courses, in the KU's interdisciplinary Bachelor's and Master's programs or in the Lizentiat and doctoral programs. Our aim is to enable our students to reflect on their faith in a well-founded, independent, critical and comprehensive manner, to open up theology to them as an important, enriching element for their personality and thus to qualify them for a wide variety of professional fields both within and outside the church. In addition, we offer all KU students the opportunity to approach religious interpretations of people, the world and history in required and elective modules. Being a Faculty of Theology, we are particularly committed to providing a comprehensive education at a Catholic University. In addition to all this, the promotion of early-career researchers is a particular concern of ours.

We cooperate with the Spiritual Mentorate, the Collegium Willibaldinum seminary and the international, interdenominational and interritual seminary for students of the Eastern churches, the Collegium Orientale, and maintain an ecumenical exchange with students and teachers at the Protestant Augustana University of Applied Sciences Neuendettelsau. We consider a study- and research-friendly working environment, trusting and intensive contact between students and lecturers and family-friendly conditions to be essential for a solid theological education.

We see adult education and the transfer of knowledge to society as an important contribution to the promotion of humanity and the preservation of creation. For us, the focus is on human beings and the reality of their lives, whose understanding of themselves and the world we want to deepen and enrich through our scientific reflection on the question of God, religious experiences and their interpretations.

This mission statement of the Faculty of Theology was initiated in the context of its profile development process, jointly developed in the Faculty's committees and adopted by the Faculty Council on November 13, 2020.