Theologians use various forms of analysis and argument (experiential, philosophical, ethnographic, historical, and others) to help understand, explain, test, critique, defend or promote any myriad of religious topics. As in philosophy of ethics and case law, arguments often assume the existence of previously resolved questions, and develop by making analogies from them to draw new inferences in new situations.
The study of theology may help a theologian more deeply understand their own religious tradition,[2] another religious tradition,[3] or it may enable them to explore the nature of divinity without reference to any specific tradition. Theology may be used to propagate,[4] reform,[5] or justify a religious tradition; or it may be used to compare,[6] challenge (e.g. biblical criticism), or oppose (e.g. irreligion) a religious tradition or worldview. Theology might also help a theologian address some present situation or need through a religious tradition,[7] or to explore possible ways of interpreting the world.[8]
Etymology
The term derives from the Greek theologia (θεολογία), a combination of theos (Θεός, 'god') and logia (λογία, 'utterances, sayings, oracles')—the latter word relating to Greek logos (λόγος, 'word, discourse, account, reasoning').[9][10] The term would pass on to Latin as theologia, then French as théologie, eventually becoming the English theology.
Through several variants (e.g., theologie, teologye), the English theology had evolved into its current form by 1362.[11] The sense the word has in English depends in large part on the sense the Latin and Greek equivalents had acquired in patristic and medieval Christian usage, although the English term has now spread beyond Christian contexts.
Classical philosophy
Greek theologia (θεολογία) was used with the meaning 'discourse on God' around 380 BC by Plato in The Republic.[12] Aristotle divided theoretical philosophy into mathematike, physike, and theologike, with the latter corresponding roughly to metaphysics, which, for Aristotle, included discourse on the nature of the divine.[13]
Drawing on Greek Stoic sources, experiential, philosophical, ethnographic, historical, and others) to help understand, explain, test, critique, defend or promote any myriad of religious topics. As in philosophy of ethics and case law, arguments often assume the existence of previously resolved questions, and develop by making analogies from them to draw new inferences in new situations.
The study of theology may help a theologian more deeply understand their own religious tradition,[2] another religious tradition,[3] or it may enable them to explore the nature of divinity without reference to any specific tradition. Theology may be used to propagate,[4] reform,[5] or justify a religious tradition; or it may be used to compare,[6] challenge (e.g. biblical criticism), or oppose (e.g. irreligion) a religious tradition or worldview. Theology might also help a theologian address some present situation or need through a religious tradition,[7] or to explore possible ways of interpreting the world.[8]
The term derives from the Greek theologia (θεολογία), a combination of theos (Θεός, 'god') and logia (λογία, 'utterances, sayings, oracles')—the latter word relating to Greek logos (λόγος, 'word, discourse, account, reasoning').[9][10] The term would pass on to Latin as theologia, then French as théologie, eventually becoming the English theology.
Through several variants (e.g., theologie, teologye), the English theology had evolved into its current form by 1362.[11] The sense the word has in English depends in large part on the sense the Latin and Greek equivalents had acquired in patristic and medieval Christian usage, although the English term has now spread beyond Christian contexts.
Classical philosophy
Greek theologia (θεολογία) was used with the meaning 'discourse on God' around 380 BC by Plato in The Republic.[12] Aristotle divided theoretical philosophy into mathematike, physike, and theologike, with the latter corresponding roughly to metaphysics, which, for Aristotle, included discourse on the nature of the divine.[13]
Drawing on Greek Stoic sources, Latin writer Varro distinguished three forms of such discourse:[14]
- mythical, concerning the myths of the Greek gods;
- rational, philosophical analysis of the gods and of cosmology; and
- civil, concerning the rites and duties of public religious observance.
Later usage
Some Latin Christian authors, such as Tertullian and Augustine, followed Varro's threefold usage.[14][15] However, Augustine also defined theologia as "reasoning or discussion concerning the Deity."[16]
Latin author Boethius, writing in the early 6th century, used theologia to denote a subdivision of philosophy as a subject of academic study, dealing with the motionless, incorporeal reality; as opposed to physica, w
Through several variants (e.g., theologie, teologye), the English theology had evolved into its current form by 1362.[11] The sense the word has in English depends in large part on the sense the Latin and Greek equivalents had acquired in patristic and medieval Christian usage, although the English term has now spread beyond Christian contexts.
Greek theologia (θεολογία) was used with the meaning 'discourse on God' around 380 BC by Plato in The Republic.[12] Aristotle divided theoretical philosophy into mathematike, physike, and theologike, with the latter corresponding roughly to metaphysics, which, for Aristotle, included discourse on the nature of the divine.[13]
Drawing on Greek Stoic sources, Latin writer Varro distinguished three forms of such discourse:[14]
- mythical, concerning the myths of the Greek gods;
- rational, philosophical analysis of the gods and of cosmology; and
- civil, concerning the rites and duties of public religious observance.
Later usage
Some Latin Christian authors, such as Tertullian and Augustine, followed Varro's threefold usage.[14][15] However, Augus
Drawing on Greek Stoic sources, Latin writer Varro distinguished three forms of such discourse:[14]
Some Latin Christian authors, such as Tertullian and Augustine, followed Varro's threefold usage.[14][15] However, Augustine also defined theologia as "reasoning or discussion concerning the Deity."[16]
Latin author Boethius, writing in the early 6th century, used theologia to denote a subdivision of philosophy as a subject of academic study, dealing with the motionless, incorporeal reality; as opposed to physica, which deals with corporeal, moving realities.[17] Boethius' definition influenced medieval Latin usage.[18]
I
Latin author Boethius, writing in the early 6th century, used theologia to denote a subdivision of philosophy as a subject of academic study, dealing with the motionless, incorporeal reality; as opposed to physica, which deals with corporeal, moving realities.[17] Boethius' definition influenced medieval Latin usage.[18]
In patristic Greek Christian sources, theologia could refer narrowly to devout and inspired knowledge of, and teaching about, the essential nature of God.[19]
In scholastic Latin sources, the term came to denote the rational study of the doctrines of the Christian religion, or (more precisely) the academic discipline which investigated the coherence and implications of the language and claims of the Bible and of the theological tradition (the latter often as represented in Peter Lombard's Sentences, a book of extracts from the Church Fathers).[20]
In the Renaissance, especially with Florentine Platonist apologists of Dante's poetics, the distinction between 'poetic theology' (theologia poetica) and 'revealed' or Biblical theology serves as stepping stone for a revival of philosophy as independent of theological authority.
It is in this last sense, theology as an academic discipline involving rational study of Christian teaching, that the term passed into English in the 14th century,[21] although it could also be used in the narrower sense found in Boethius and the Greek patristic authors, to mean rational study of the essential nature of God—a discourse now sometimes called theology proper.[22]
From the 17th century onwards, it also became possible to use the term theology to refer to study of religious ideas and teachings that are not specifically Christian (e.g., in the term natural theology, which denoted theology based on reasoning from natural facts independent of specifically Christian revelation)[23] or that are specific to another religion (such as below).
Theology can also now be used in a derived sense to mean "a system of theoretical principles; an (impractical or rigid) ideology."[24][25]
The term theology has been deemed by some as only appropriate to the study of religions that worship a supposed deity (a theos), i.e. more widely than monotheism; and presuppose a belief in the ability to speak and reason about this deity (in logia). They suggest the term is less appropriate in religious contexts that are organized differently (i.e., religions without a single deity, or that deny that such subjects can be studied logically). Hierology has been proposed, by such people as Eugène Goblet d'Alviella (1908), as an alternative, more generic term.[26]
Abrahamic religions
Islamic theological discussion that parallels Christian theological discussion is called Kalam; the Islamic analogue of Christian theological discussion would more properly be the investigation and elaboration of Sharia or Fiqh.[28]
Kalam…does not hold the leading place in Muslim thought that theology does in Christianity. To find an equivalent for 'theology' in the Christian sense it is necessary to have recourse to several disciplines, and to the usul al-fiqh as much as to kalam.
Islamic theological discussion that parallels Christian theological discussion is called Kalam; the Islamic analogue of Christian theological discussion would more properly be the investigation and elaboration of Sharia or Fiqh.[28]
Kalam…does not hold the leading place in Muslim thought that theology does in Christianity. To find an equivalent for 'theology' in the Christian sense it is necessary to have recourse to several disciplines, and to the usul al-fiqh as much as to kalam.
Judaism
Buddhism
Some academic inquiries within Buddhism, dedicated to the investigation of a Buddhist understanding of the world, prefer the designation Buddhist philosophy to the term Buddhist theology, since Buddhism lacks the same conception of a theos. Jose Ignacio Cabezon, who argues that the use of theology is in fact appropriate, can only do so, he says, because "I take theology not to be restricted to discourse on God.… I take 'theology' not to be restricted to its etymological meaning. In that latter sense, Buddhism is of course atheological, rejecting as it does the notion of God."Buddhism, dedicated to the investigation of a Buddhist understanding of the world, prefer the designation Buddhist philosophy to the term Buddhist theology, since Buddhism lacks the same conception of a theos. Jose Ignacio Cabezon, who argues that the use of theology is in fact appropriate, can only do so, he says, because "I take theology not to be restricted to discourse on God.… I take 'theology' not to be restricted to its etymological meaning. In that latter sense, Buddhism is of course atheological, rejecting as it does the notion of God."[31]
Hinduism
Within Hindu philosophy, there is a tradition of philosophical speculation on the nature of the un
Within Hindu philosophy, there is a tradition of philosophical speculation on the nature of the universe, of God (termed Brahman, Paramatma, and/or Bhagavan in some schools of Hindu thought) and of the ātman (soul). The Sanskrit word for the various schools of Hindu philosophy is darśana ('view, viewpoint'). Vaishnava theology has been a subject of study for many devotees, philosophers and scholars in India for centuries. A large part of its study lies in classifying and organizing the manifestations of thousands of gods and their aspects. In recent decades the study of Hinduism has also been taken up by a number of academic institutions in Europe, such as the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and Bhaktivedanta College.[32]
Other religions
Shinto
English academic Graham Harvey has commented that Pagans "rarely indulge in theology."[33] Nevertheless, theology has been applied in some sectors across contempo
English academic Graham Harvey has commented that Pagans "rarely indulge in theology."[33] Nevertheless, theology has been applied in some sectors across contemporary Pagan communities, including Wicca, Heathenry, Druidry and Kemetism. As these religions have given precedence to orthopraxy, theological views often vary among adherents. The term is used by Christine Kraemer in her book Seeking The Mystery: An Introduction to Pagan Theologies and by Michael York in Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion.
Topics
History of academic discipline
The history of the study of theology in institutions of higher education is as old as the history of such institutions themselves. For instance:
- Taxila was an early centre of Vedic learning, possible from the 6th-century BC or earlier;[36]Latin Church by papal bull as studia generalia and perhaps from cathedral schools. It is possible, however, that the development of cathedral schools into universities was quite rare, with the University of Paris being an exception.[44] Later they were also founded by Kings (University of Naples Federico II, Charles University in Prague, Jagiellonian University in Kraków) or municipal administrations (University of Cologne, University of Erfurt).
In the early medieval period, most new universities were founded from pre-existing schools, usually when these schools were deemed to have become primarily sites of higher education. Many historians state that universities and cathedral schools were a continuation of the interest in learning promoted by monasteries.[45] Christian theological learning was, therefore, a component in these institutions, as was the study of Church or Canon law: universities played an important role in training people for ecclesiastical offices, in helping the church pursue the clarification and defence of its teaching, and in supporting the legal rights of the church over against secular rulers.[46] At such universities, theological study was initially closely tied to the life of faith and of the church: it fed, and was fed by, practices of preaching, prayer and celebration of the Mass.[47]
During the High Middle Ages, theology was the ultimate subject at universities, being named "The Queen of the Sciences" and served as the capstone to the Trivium and Quadrivium that young men were expected to study. This meant that the other subjects (including philosophy) existed primarily to help with theological thought.[48]
Christian theology's preeminent place in the university began to be challenged during the European early medieval period, most new universities were founded from pre-existing schools, usually when these schools were deemed to have become primarily sites of higher education. Many historians state that universities and cathedral schools were a continuation of the interest in learning promoted by monasteries.[45] Christian theological learning was, therefore, a component in these institutions, as was the study of Church or Canon law: universities played an important role in training people for ecclesiastical offices, in helping the church pursue the clarification and defence of its teaching, and in supporting the legal rights of the church over against secular rulers.[46] At such universities, theological study was initially closely tied to the life of faith and of the church: it fed, and was fed by, practices of preaching, prayer and celebration of the Mass.[47]
During the High Middle Ages, theology was the ultimate subject at universities, being named "The Queen of the Sciences" and served as the capstone to the Trivium and Quadrivium that young men were expected to study. This meant that the other subjects (including philosophy) existed primarily to help with theological thought.[48]
Christian theology's preeminent place in the university began to be challenged during the European Enlightenment, especially in Germany.[49] Other subjects gained in independence and prestige, and questions were raised about the place of a discipline that seemed to involve a commitment to the authority of particular religious traditions in institutions that were increasingly understood to be devoted to independent reason.[50]
Since the early 19th century, various different approaches have emerged in the West to theology as an academic discipline. Much of the debate concerning theology's place in the university or within a general higher education curriculum centres on whether theology's methods are appropriately theoretical and (broadly speaking) scientific or, on the other hand, whether theology requires a pre-commitment of faith by its practitioners, and whether such a commitment conflicts with academic freedom.[49][51][52][53]
In some contexts, theology has been held to belong in institutions of higher education primarily as a form of professional training for Christian ministry. This was the basis on which Friedrich Schleiermacher, a liberal theologian, argued for the inclusion of theology in the new University of Berlin in 1810.[54][49]:ch.14
For instance, in Germany, theological faculties at state universities are typically tied to particular denominations, Protestant or Roman Catholic, and those faculties will offer denominationally-bound (konfessionsgebunden) degrees, and have denominationally bound public posts amon
For instance, in Germany, theological faculties at state universities are typically tied to particular denominations, Protestant or Roman Catholic, and those faculties will offer denominationally-bound (konfessionsgebunden) degrees, and have denominationally bound public posts amongst their faculty; as well as contributing "to the development and growth of Christian knowledge" they "provide the academic training for the future clergy and teachers of religious instruction at German schools."[55]
In the United States, several prominent colleges and universities were started in order to train Christian ministers. Harvard,[56] Georgetown,[57] Boston University, Yale,[58] Duke University,[59] and Princeton[60] all had the theological training of clergy as a primary purpose at their foundation.
Seminaries and bible colleges have continued this alliance between the academic study of theology and training for Christian ministry. There are, for instance, numerous prominent examples in the United States, including Catholic Theological Union in Chicago,[61] The Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley,[62] Criswell College in Dallas,[63] The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville,[64] Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois,[65] Andersonville Theological Seminary in Camilla, Georgia,[66] Dallas Theological Seminary,[67] North Texas Collegiate Institute in Farmers Branch, Texas[68] and the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri.
In some contexts, scholars pursue theology as an academic discipline without formal affiliation to any particular church (though members of staff may well have affiliations to churches), and without focussing on ministerial training. This applies, for instance, to many university departments in the United Kingdom, including the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Exeter, and the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Leeds.[69] Traditional academic prizes, such as the University of Aberdeen's Lumsden and Sachs Fellowship, tend to acknowledge performance in theology (or divinity as it is known at Aberdeen) and in religious studies.
Religious studies
In some contemporary contexts, a distinction is made between theology, w
In some contemporary contexts, a distinction is made between theology, which is seen as involving some level of commitment to the claims of the religious tradition being studied, and religious studies, which by contrast is normally seen as requiring that the question of the truth or falsehood of the religious traditions studied be kept outside its field. Religious studies involves the study of historical or contemporary practices or of those traditions' ideas using intellectual tools and frameworks that are not themselves specifically tied to any religious tradition and that are normally understood to be neutral or secular.[70] In contexts where 'religious studies' in this sense is the focus, the primary forms of study are likely to include:
- Anthropology of religion
- Comparative religion
- History of religions
- Sometimes, theology and religious studies are seen as being in tension,[71] and at other times, they are held to coexist without serious tension.[72] Occasionally it is denied that there is as clear a boundary between them.[73]
Criticism
Pre-20th century