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> Theology is the study of religion. You may be thinking of religious studies. Theology is basically the study of Christian beliefs about Christianity. Or more

> Theology is the study of religion. You may be thinking of religious studies. Theology is basically the study of Christian beliefs about Christianity. Or more generally the study of what people within a specific religion believe / practice. Religious studies is an actual academic field, theology is not.

chrisseaton 9y ago
I don't think so. The theology department at my university studies 'Buddhism, Christian history and theology, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Chinese and Japanese religions'. It's not affiliated with any religion, and as I said, my friends studying it weren't even religious themselves.
- cfadvan 9y ago
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theology#As_an_academic_discipline_in_its_own_right https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theology#As_an_academic_disc... 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. 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. There is a difference between theology and religious studies.
  - chrisseaton 9y ago
    Do you think a leading university theology department is confused about what theology is?
    - cfadvan 9y ago
      No, but you on the other hand...
- Alex3917 9y ago
  Were they founded as a Christian college? If so, it's possible that they changed the curriculum at some point and just kept the name of the department for historical reasons. E.g. Harvard has a theology program, but my understanding is that what you're going to get there is a modern liberal academic perspective on religion.
  - emodendroket 9y ago
    Probably more schools than you are aware of (based on this comment) began with religious purposes -- including Harvard, founded "to advance learning and perpetuate it to posterity, dreading to leave an illiterate ministry to the churches when our present ministers shall lie in the dust." (c.f. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_University#Colonial https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_University#Colonial)
    - Alex3917 9y ago
      I realize that most US colleges were created for religious reasons, that's why I asked that. In fact the public school system in the U.S. was also created for religious reasons, to prevent kids from being tempted by satan.
- cthalupa 9y ago
  Based on your profile, you're in the UK. Now, since this website has plenty of international visitors, we should probably endeavor to be more specific and aware of potential differences, but there's definitely a heavy American bent to the visitors. And, in America, Theology and Religious Studies are quite different. http://www.ats.edu/ http://www.ats.edu/ is one of the larger accreditation programs in the US for Theology, and you'll notice two very important bits right on the front page: "The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) is a membership organization of more than 270 graduate schools that conduct postbaccalaureate professional and academic degree programs to educate persons for the practice of ministry and for teaching and research in the theological disciplines." and "ATS membership is open to schools in the Christian and Jewish faiths." Practice of ministry, and open to Christian and Jewish faiths. This is very different from the type of theology program you are talking about. Your theology programs are our religious studies. Our theology programs are primarily focused on Judeo-Christian beliefs and preparing people to work as ministers in that field.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
foldr 9y ago
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=%22professor+of+theology%22&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB778GB778&oq=%22professor+of+theology%22&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.4533j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=%22professor+of+theology%2...
- drdaeman 9y ago
  Ahem. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q="professor+of+astrology" https://www.google.co.uk/search?q="professor+of+astrology"
  - chrisseaton 9y ago
    I think the point wasn't that you could search for the term - of course you can search for anything. The point was their search result led you to a lot of very respected institutions where these professors have chairs. Your search result does not.
emodendroket 9y ago
I wouldn't say theology is any less an "actual academic field" than philosophy.

chrisseaton 9y ago

I don't think so. The theology department at my university studies 'Buddhism, Christian history and theology, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Chinese and Japanese religions'. It's not affiliated with any religion, and as I said, my friends studying it weren't even religious themselves.

cfadvan 9y ago
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theology#As_an_academic_discipline_in_its_own_right https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theology#As_an_academic_disc... 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. 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. There is a difference between theology and religious studies.
- chrisseaton 9y ago
  Do you think a leading university theology department is confused about what theology is?
  - cfadvan 9y ago
    No, but you on the other hand...
Alex3917 9y ago
Were they founded as a Christian college? If so, it's possible that they changed the curriculum at some point and just kept the name of the department for historical reasons. E.g. Harvard has a theology program, but my understanding is that what you're going to get there is a modern liberal academic perspective on religion.
- emodendroket 9y ago
  Probably more schools than you are aware of (based on this comment) began with religious purposes -- including Harvard, founded "to advance learning and perpetuate it to posterity, dreading to leave an illiterate ministry to the churches when our present ministers shall lie in the dust." (c.f. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_University#Colonial https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_University#Colonial)
  - Alex3917 9y ago
    I realize that most US colleges were created for religious reasons, that's why I asked that. In fact the public school system in the U.S. was also created for religious reasons, to prevent kids from being tempted by satan.
cthalupa 9y ago
Based on your profile, you're in the UK. Now, since this website has plenty of international visitors, we should probably endeavor to be more specific and aware of potential differences, but there's definitely a heavy American bent to the visitors. And, in America, Theology and Religious Studies are quite different. http://www.ats.edu/ http://www.ats.edu/ is one of the larger accreditation programs in the US for Theology, and you'll notice two very important bits right on the front page: "The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) is a membership organization of more than 270 graduate schools that conduct postbaccalaureate professional and academic degree programs to educate persons for the practice of ministry and for teaching and research in the theological disciplines." and "ATS membership is open to schools in the Christian and Jewish faiths." Practice of ministry, and open to Christian and Jewish faiths. This is very different from the type of theology program you are talking about. Your theology programs are our religious studies. Our theology programs are primarily focused on Judeo-Christian beliefs and preparing people to work as ministers in that field.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

foldr 9y ago

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=%22professor+of+theology%22&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB778GB778&oq=%22professor+of+theology%22&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.4533j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=%22professor+of+theology%2...

drdaeman 9y ago
Ahem. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q="professor+of+astrology" https://www.google.co.uk/search?q="professor+of+astrology"
- chrisseaton 9y ago
  I think the point wasn't that you could search for the term - of course you can search for anything. The point was their search result led you to a lot of very respected institutions where these professors have chairs. Your search result does not.

emodendroket 9y ago

I wouldn't say theology is any less an "actual academic field" than philosophy.