[2] The term public theology was first coined by Martin Marty to contrast against civil religion.
[5] He suggests that, given these publics, the language and rationale used should be openly accessible by all and not couched in theologically elitist terms.
[12] The first two aim at developing public theology as a field of study while the last one is the practical application of it.
[13] Some notable figures in this field are Dietrich Bonhoeffer, William Temple, Martin Luther King Jr., Desmond Tutu, Dion Forster, Jürgen Moltmann, Ronald Thiemann, Dorothee Soelle, John Courtney Murray, Reinhold Niebuhr, Duncan Forrester, Max Stackhouse, and Sebastian C. H. Kim.
While there is no authoritative definition or corpus of books on public theology, there are several common traits which are observable in varying degrees.
Fifthly, it has a global perspective because many issues affect countries across borders, such as immigration, climate change, refugees, etc.
It seeks to bring change gradually through social analysis, public dialogue, and shaping the moral fabric of society.
As a result, it may fail to engage the issues with sufficient depth and academic rigour because it lacks the necessary subject matter expertise.
This overt broadness may also cause public theology to lack a focused approach and method because each issue may require a different methodology.