Practical Theology and Academic Freedom: A Note on the New AAR Draft Statement

The American Academy of Religion recently released the latest draft, for comment (by 1 September 2015), of its updated Statement on Academic Freedom. I wonder what practical theologians contribute to this important conversation about academic freedom as regards the study of religion.
Many parts of the draft Statement seem to speak directly to (the difficulties involved with) what I, and other practical theologians I know, experience in teaching and learning in theology:
*what critical inquiry entails (“questioning assumptions, some of them long taken for granted; attending to multiple points of view, some of them disturbing”);
*reflection on “religious practices and beliefs” as often “unsettling”;
*the importance of care and judiciousness in guiding this critical inquiry and in communicating the fruits of research in religion, which must remain free from all coercion;
*the expression of “extramural” personal views in social media that “should be protected by academic freedom.”
Academic freedom in institutions in which theology is a privileged discipline, institutions that often have a heritage of a specific religious tradition/affiliation, often needs active protecting. In my experience, however, academic freedom is not commonly discussed or made a topic of inquiry in theology more “broadly” or in practical theology in particular. In other words, the purportedly foundational practice of academic freedom often seems to sit to the side in how we talk about our work in (and out of) our institutions. By introducing this draft Statement for consideration by AAR membership, the AAR has put me in mind of the value for practical theology of considering the practice of academic freedom.
What does a care-full — and in principle fundamentally open — courage for truth mean for practical theology teaching and research, and what can practical theology teach academic freedom about this courage and freedom?
From my vantage, practical theology has a lot to contribute in terms of its sophistication about how critical religious inquiry happens in situations of respect for others (in the classroom or religious setting) – there is a lot of literature on this from many directions. And practical theology has something to learn from academic freedom theory and practice about room and liberty for more critical inquiry into theology’s grounding claims and assumptions.
How does academic freedom function in your context, and what impact would this statement make on your work?
Tom Beaudoin, Fordham University