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Theology
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Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a god or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective (e.g., a perspective of commitment to that religion), and religious studies as the study of religion from an external (e.g., a secular) perspective. Theologians use various forms of analysis and argument (philosophical, ethnographic, historical, and others) to help understand, explain, test, critique, defend or promote any of myriad religious topics.
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Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a god or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective (e.g., a perspective of commitment to that religion), and religious studies as the study of religion from an external (e.g., a secular) perspective. Theologians use various forms of analysis and argument (philosophical, ethnographic, historical, and others) to help understand, explain, test, critique, defend or promote any of myriad religious topics. It might be undertaken to help the theologian:
- understand more truly his or her own religious tradition,
- understand more truly another religious tradition,
- make comparisons between religious traditions,
- defend or justify a religious tradition,
- facilitate reform of a particular tradition,
- assist in the propagation of a religious tradition, or
- draw on the resources of a tradition to address some present situation or need,
among other things.
The word "theology" has classical Greek origins, but it was taken up in both Greek and Latin forms by Christian authors, and it is the history of the term in Christian contexts, particularly in the Latin West, that lies behind most contemporary usage, even though the term can now be used to speak of reasoned discourse within and about a variety of different religious traditions.
History of the term
- See the main article on the History of theology, particularly for the history of Jewish, Christian and Islamic theology.
The word theology comes from late middle English, from French théologie, from Latin theologia, from Greek ?e?????a, theologia, from ?e??, theos or God + ????? or logos, "words," "sayings," "discourse," or "reason" ( + suffix ?a, ia, "state of," "property of," "place of"). The Greek word can be literally translated as "talk about God or the divine," but the meaning of the word shifted as it was used (first in Greek and then in Latin) in European Christian thought in the Patristic period, the Middle Ages and Enlightenment, and then taken up more widely.
theologia is used in classical Greek literature, with the meaning "discourse on the gods or cosmology." The first known use is by Plato in The Republic, Book ii, Ch. 18.
- Aristotle divided theoretical philosophy into
mathematike, physike and theologike, with the latter corresponding roughly to metaphysics, which, for Aristotle, included discussion of the nature of the divine.
- Drawing on Greek sources, the Latin writer Varro influentially distinguished three forms of such discourse: 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).
apokalypsis ioannoy toy theologoy, "the revelation of John the theologos." There, however, the word refers not to John the "theologian" in the modern English sense of the word but—using a slightly different sense of the root logos, meaning not "rational discourse" but "word" or "message,"—one who speaks the words of God, logoi toy theoy.
- Other Christian writers used this term with several different ranges of meaning.
- Some Latin authors, such as Tertullian and Augustine, followed Varro's threefold usage, described above.
- In Patristic Greek sources,
theologia could refer narrowly to devout and inspired knowledge of, and teaching about, the essential nature of God. In some medieval Greek and Latin sources, theologia (in the sense of "an account or record of the ways of God") could refer simply to the Bible. 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). It is the last of these senses (theology as the rational study of the teachings of a religion or of several religions) that lies behind most modern uses (though the second—theology as a discussion specifically of a religion's or several religions' teachings about God—is also found in some academic and ecclesiastical contexts; see the article on Theology Proper).
- "Theology" can also now be used in a derived sense to mean "a system of theoretical principles; an (impractical or rigid) ideology."
Religions other than Christianity
In academic theological circles, there is some debate as to whether theology is an activity peculiar to the Christian religion, such that the word "theology" should be reserved for Christian theology, and other words used to name analogous discourses within other religious traditions. It is seen by some to be a term only appropriate to the study of religions that worship a deity (a theos), and to presuppose belief in the ability to speak and reason about this deity (in logia)—and so to be less appropriate in religious contexts that are organized differently (religions without a deity, or that deny that such subjects can be studied logically). ("Hierology" has been proposed as an alternative, more generic term.)
Analogous discourses
- Some academic inquiries within Buddhism, dedicated to the rational 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 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 a theological, rejecting as it does the notion of God."
- Within Hindu philosophy, there is a solid and ancient tradition of philosophical speculation on the nature of the universe, of God (termed "Brahman" in some schools of Hindu thought) and of the Atman (soul). The Sanskrit word for the various schools of Hindu philosophy is Darshana (meaning "view" or "viewpoint"). Vaishnava theology has been a subject of study for many devotees, philosophers and scholars in India for centuries, and in recent decades also has been taken on by a number of academic institutions in Europe, such as the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and Bhaktivedanta College.
See also: Krishnology
- Islamic theological discussion that parallels Christian theological discussion is named "Kalam"; the Islamic analogue of Christian theological discussion would more properly be the investigation and elaboration of Islamic law, or "Fiqh." "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." (L. Gardet) A number of Muslim theologians, such as Alkindus, Alfarabi, Avicenna (see Avicennism) and Averroes (see Averroism), have influenced the development of Christian theology significantly.
- In Judaism, the historical absence of political authority has meant that most theological reflection has happened within the context of the Jewish community and synagogue, rather than within specialized academic institutions. Nevertheless, Jewish theology historically has been very active and highly significant for Christian and Islamic theology. It is sometimes claimed, however, that the Jewish analogue of Christian theological discussion would more properly be Rabbinical discussion of Jewish law and Jewish Biblical commentaries.
Theology as an 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 example, Taxila was an early centre of Vedic learning, possible from the 6th century BCE or earlier; the Platonic Academy founded in Athens in the 4th century BCE seems to have included theological themes in its subject matter; the Chinese Taixue delivered Confucian teaching from the 2nd century BCE; the School of Nisibis was a centre of Christian learning from the 4th century CE; Nalanda in India was a sight of Buddhist higher learning from at least the 5th or 6th century CE; and the Moroccan University of Al-Karaouine was a centre of Islamic learning from the 10th century, as was Al-Azhar University in Cairo.
Modern Western universities evolved from the monastic institutions and (especially) cathedral schools of Western Europe during the High Middle Ages (see, for instance, the University of Bologna, Paris University and Oxford University). From the beginning, Christian theological learning was therefore a central 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. 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.
During the High Middle Ages, theology was therefore the ultimate subject at universities, being named "The Queen of the Sciences" and serving 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.
Christian theology’s preeminent place in the university began to be challenged during the European Enlightenment, especially in Germany. other subjects gained in independence and prestige, and questions were raised about the place in institutions that were increasingly understood to be devoted to independent reason of a discipline that seemed to involve commitment to the authority of particular religious traditions.
Since the early nineteenth 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.
Theology and ministerial training
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 argued for the inclusion of theology in the new University of Berlin in 1810.
For instance, in Germany, theological faculties at State universities are typically tied to particular denominations, Protestant or Catholic, and those faculties will offer denominationally-bound (konfessionsgebundenes) 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.’
In the U.S.A., several prominent colleges and universities were started in order to train Christian ministers in the U.S. Harvard, Georgetown University, Boston College, Yale, Princeton, and Brown University 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. The Chicago Theological Union, Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Creighton University Omaha, University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, the University of San Francisco, Criswell College in Dallas, Southern Seminary in Louisville, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, Wheaton College and Graduate School in Wheaton, Illinois, Dallas Theological Seminary, and many other schools have influenced higher education in theology.
Theology beyond affiliation to religious institutions
In some countries, some state-funded universities (sometimes, but not always, universities with a medieval or early-modern pedigree) have theology departments that have only informal or ad-hoc links to religious institutions (see, for instance, several theology departments in the UK).
Theology religious studies
In some contexts, following the Enlightenment challenge to its legitimacy, theology has evolved into (or been replaced by) religious studies. In such contexts, the primary forms of study are likely to include:
These studies normally involve studying the historical or contemporary practices or ideas of one or more religious traditions using intellectual tools and frameworks that are not themselves specifically tied to any religious tradition, but that are (normally) understood to be neutral or secular.
See also
Footnotes
External links
- - Features by Jean-Michel Clajot, Belgian photographer
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- by Jose Faur, contrasting the intuitive theology of the medieval Rabbanites with the hyper-rationalism of the Karaites
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