Theology as science – in Church and society Theories and explanations

Abstract

The classic tradition of theology as an ecclesial science of faith emphasises the participatory aspects of a concept of faith based in mysticism as the place where the Logos of theology unfolds in all its dimensions. John Henry Newman concurs in his proposition that ‘phronesis’ must form the basis of theological reasoning in order to acknowledge the limitedness and temporality of all human thought and its susceptibility to fallacy and ideology. Further, Christian theology is equally fundamental for the cultural memory of Europe and humanity as it is for the establishment of a faith tradition as an educational religion. However, theology can only fulfil this calling if it is able to integrate all constitutive forms of religious learning through self-reflective distancing and participation: Learning through, from and about religion.