In the recent past, many places have seen a parting of the ways of public universities and the discipline of theology. In this paper, it is suggested that this development is contingent rather than necessary and implies a loss for both. Two lines of argument for retaining a place for theology at public secular universities are explored: the first one, which attempts to align theology to the natural sciences, is found wanting; the second one, which situates theology in the realm of the humanities, turns out to be convincing. It follows from this, though, that in order to remain viable mono-religious theological faculties, schools or departments should open up so as to include a variety of religious perspectives. Finally, a brief suggestion will be made as to how such a new configuration might look like in actual practice.