What Is Theology?

I get asked this question in about fifty percent of small talk conversations. Like all small talk in England, it begins with the weather and then somehow or other moves on to, "So, what do you do?" Although I am always tempted to lie myself into an alter ego who works as a sales assistant in an eerily nondescript warehouse building, I most often answer with, "I am a doctoral student in theology at the University of Manchester." And here in lies the choice for my unsuspecting conversant.

The first option entails smiling nervously before walking away. There doesn't seem to be any way to predict who will make this choice. It's as common amongst Christian church goers as it is secular atheists. In the case of both, theology is deemed to be either an irrelevant pastime of pipe smoking middle-aged white men who waste their time fantasizing about how many angels can fit on the head of a needle, or a divisive discipline which represents a whole host of societal ills - i.e. theology = violence, homophobia, etc. That, or they just don't want to transgress the taboo about discussing religion and/or politics in polite conversation.

But then there is a second direction which my small talk conversations can take. There are those for whom theology is a kind of mystery, a misnomer which leaves their inquiring minds intrigued. This choice seems to be as common amongst the naive for whom theology could be one of any "ology" they are unfamiliar with, as it is for those who have broached what Paul Ricoeur might call a second-naivete which occurs after years of critical reflection. In either case,  the question is eventually asked, "What is theology?"

So, given that you are still reading, I will assume you are the latter type of person, now ready for a peak over the edge to catch a glimpse at just how far this rabbit hole goes.  That is the purpose of the rest of this website really.  It's an exploration into what theology is through my eyes both academically in terms of my curriculum vitae and research interests as well as more informally in terms of my blog. 

To begin with however, please indulge me in a very brief comment on one basic way this perennial question opens up.

The word theology is derived from the combination of the two Greek words theos and logos. Theos means God and logos can be translated as discussion. Theology’s etymology gives some insight into what it is – discussion about God. Discussions are always-already interrelated with the everyday concerns people have, and naturally theology can’t help but work through how God relates to those concerns. When people begin to ask what difference God makes in light of their work, relationships, behavior and habits they are doing theology. Though secularists like Marx and Durkheim long ago predicted that religion would disappear like a fog over a clouded culture, the exact opposite has taken place. Religious expression remains pervasive in the modern and increasingly postmodern world in which we live. In asking what theology is therefore, we begin to address the questions we are faced with in a world of information without meaning, community without concrete locations, and politics without center or boundary.