POSTPONED: Debating theology as a research classification: medieval and modern perspectives

Description

This event is postponed until further notice.

A proposal by the ANZSRC Review Steering Committee to include Theology in new two- and four-digit research codes signals significant shift towards recognising the place of Theology alongside Philosophy and Religious Studies, in a way that is larger than within the specific context of Christian Theology. Not all religious traditions might invoke the notion of theology, as they may have other names to identify the intellectual system behind their core principles.

In this paper, Constant J Mews discusses the long contested application of the Greek term 'theologia' to Christian teaching, traditionally considered as articulated in its sacred scriptures. Constant argues that use of the word 'theology' has always been problematic in the medieval period as much as in modernity. While Thomas Aquinas became famous for his Summa theologiae, this was not the original title of his treatise, which he considered as a summa of sacred teaching, rather than of theology. Sacred teaching might be a better way of describing the core principles of any religious tradition.