My personal bias is towards an experiential knowledge of God rather than a conceptual proof

Theology = Study of Leprechauns from Zaadz: ~C4Chaos' Blog
(Crossposted from www.c4chaos.com)

Theology is comparable to the study of leprechauns. That is according to the ballsy Richard Dawkins. For Dawkins, Theology has no place in a University...

My quick reaction to it is that, I think Dawkins has an excellent point. I'm all for comparative religious studies and I think Theology as a subject would fit nicely under the bigger umbrella of Philosophy. Of course, Christian Universities could keep the subject since Theology is "peculiar to the Christian religion.

"Personally, I see no value in Theology, at this point in time. In its entire history, I don't know of any convincing proof that came of out that domain of study. Maybe because I don't have enough faith to see the proof. My personal bias is towards an experiential knowledge of God rather than a conceptual proof. I'd rather see Contemplative Science in universities, wherein all contemplative and spiritual practices of all religions are studied, practiced, evaluated, and continuously improved.

But what do I know? I'm only a person who grew up as an indoctrinated Catholic whose faith had already evolved out of the mythic-membership stage. A friend of mine once said, "I'm skeptical of my own skepticism." So I'd like to hear from readers out there. What's your take on this issue? Should Theology be a subject in a University? Why? Why not? If you live in a secular country (e.g. somewhere in Europe), what is the state of Theology in your country and how is it treated in the academia?

P.S. Speaking of Contemplative Science, here's B. Alan Wallace's presentation at Google.