theology
Pluraltheologies (some meanings)
- 1The field that investigates the nature of God or of any god or gods, and whether religion as a whole is true.
He earned a doctorate in theology before joining the seminary faculty.
Medieval theology wrestled with how to reconcile faith and reason.
Similardivinity
Note
The broad academic sense came into English through French and Latin from Greek theología, built from theós and lógos. By surface analysis it is theo- plus -logy, the same ending that names other disciplines. As a field of study it is usually uncountable (a doctorate in theology). The plural theologies belongs instead to a particular religious belief.
- 2An organized method for interpreting spiritual works and beliefs and expressing them in practical form.
The committee drafted a theology that translates ancient teachings into guidance for modern medical decisions.
Liberation theology applies the gospel directly to struggles against poverty and oppression.
Similardoctrine, philosophy
- 3A specific doctrine or belief held within a religion, such as one concerning grace or the end of the world.
A theology of grace runs through all of her sermons.
The two denominations split over a theology concerning the end of the world.
Similardoctrine, belief, teaching, tenet, dogma
Note
As a count noun, it has a construction of its own: the theology that, followed by a clause stating the belief. Writers on Christianity, Islam and Judaism alike use it this way, for a claim someone can hold onto or reject. Plain theology names a whole field. A theology, or the theology that, names one tenet.
She held to the theology that baptism is essential for salvation.
Most of the congregation rejected the theology that suffering is a punishment.
- 4The academic study of religions, their beliefs, and their practices; religious studies.
She teaches theology at a state university, covering Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity.
Public schools in some countries include theology alongside history and geography.
Note
Here the word widens from inquiry into God to religion as a subject of study, overlapping with religious studies. William Newton Clarke drew the line that matters in 1896: "Theology is a study, but religion is an experience." Keep that distinction in mind when choosing the word. Theology names the scholarship, never the faith or practice being studied.
- 5Details that are matters of opinion and of only marginal importance.
Whether the braces go on the same line is pure theology; the compiler doesn't care either way.
Let's settle the database design with benchmarks and save the theology about naming for later.
Similarhairsplitting, pedantry, quibbling, nitpicking, minutiae
Note
Programmers' slang borrows the gravity of religious doctrine for arguments no test will settle: brace placement, naming conventions, a favorite language. Jim Seymour wrote in PC Mag in 1986 of people "caught up in theological arguments about LISP versus PROLOG." The adjective theological carries the same jab. The noun is usually uncountable (pure theology, not a theology) and dismissive, so it fits best in casual talk among colleagues.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of theology apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
It comes through Middle English and French from Latin theologia, which came from Koine Greek θεολογία (theología). This was built from θεός (theós, 'god') and λόγος (lógos, 'word, study').