"It is widely understood to mean literally "the study of God". |
Theology finds its scholars pursuing the understanding of and providing reasoned discourse of religion, spirituality and God or the gods. The origin of the word theology comes from late middle English (originally applying only to
Christianity) from French théologie, from Latin theologia, from Greek: theologia, from theos or God or logos, "words", "cause", "sayings," or "discourse" + suffix, "state of",
"property of", "place of". It is widely understood to mean literally "the study of God."
Theologians use philosophical analysis and argument to understand, explain, test, critique, defend or promote any of a myriad of religious topics. Theology 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 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, or for a variety of other reasons.
The word 'theology' has classical Greek origins, but was slowly given new senses when it was taken up in both Greek and Latin forms by Christian authors. It is the subsequent history of the term in Christian contexts, particularly
in the Latin West, that lies behind most contemporary usage, but the term can now be used to speak of reasoned discourse within and about a variety of different religious traditions. Various aspects both of the process by which
the discipline of ‘theology’ emerged in Christianity and the process by which the term was extended to other religions are highly controversial.
